Oneshots: The Future of HSM
by general wildcat
Summary: Oneshot sequels to my previous story, "The Future of HSM". Minor summaries for each chapter will be included at the beginning of each chapter. Like the story itself most will be C&T but other couples and their families will be included: T&G, R&K, S
1. Two Worlds

Ok, so if you've read my "Future of HSM" story then you'll know what these are. They're going to be oneshots of the lives after the story. In no particular order, of course. I was thinking about doing these and I had ideas for another oneshot of Chad and Taylor, and "Deleted HSM Scenes" and now I don't remember what they are. But I remember a few ideas for this, so here they will be. And if you have any ideas or suggestions to add to these oneshots then you can let me know in a review or pm me. I don't bite. Do I…? No, my teeth aren't sharp enough for that so I will not bite. xD Anyway, I know this idea wasn't really in the previews (even though I did add another idea in there) so hence the surprise here._  
Chapter One Summary: First week living with a new baby in the house. Fun, right? Well, see for yourselves! Somebody might get in trouble. Also, hints of the twins' arrival. How much longer till then? (Genre: Family)  
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**Chapter One: "Two Worlds"**

"Ok it was cute the first five times but now it's starting to get painful." Chad Danforth moaned as he tried to reach the toddler hanging from behind him, who happened to be dangling at the ends of his hair.

Troy Bolton only chuckled as he folded his arms, watching his friend struggle for the past ten minutes. "Do you need a hand, dude? This is my son we're talking about."

"No, no." Chad replied. As much as he wanted to shake his head he kind of couldn't, considering it might cause the child to lose his grip and slide down. "I can get him just fine."

"But Timothy's hanging from a point where you can't reach him." Troy pointed out.

"He doesn't wanna let go, Daddy." Gina shook her head, looking up at her father. "Timmy loves Uncle Chad."

With Troy and Chad being as close as brothers it was only natural their kids would look to each other like family. And since Chad worked at a daycare center, Troy trusted him more than anyone else to keep an eye on his kids, at least until Gina would start preschool next year. And then it would just be Timothy to look after. Chad loved looking after the kids and all, but sometimes they could just be so tiring. Especially Tim; for a toddler he was a lot sneakier than he looked.

"Well he can't love his uncle forever." Troy shook his head. "We have to get home."

"Hey that reminds me, how's the Mrs. doing?" Chad asked, referring to Gabriella.

"She's due in a few days." Troy smiled proudly. Though he wasn't going to admit that Gabriella was freaking out about the lack of contractions so far. He did keep trying to tell her that the due date could be later than predicted. Not like anyone would believe it, of course. "We'll be expecting those twins in no time. Hey speaking of which, how's your own family doing?"

"Just fine. You know, until we had a rude awakening." Chad admitted, still trying to get the two-year-old off of him, who was only laughing at the struggle.

"What happened to her being so quiet?" Troy asked.

"Spoke too soon." Chad sighed. "Cheryl was fine the first couple of nights, but now she's just being really loud and tiring."

"Yeah well, babies can do that to you." Troy replied. He finally gave his friend mercy and took Timothy away from Chad gently. Troy held his son in his arms, but Timothy was only clapping from excitement. "And I should know, I've gone through two."

"Not to mention you'll have two more to go through soon." Chad rubbed the back of his head. Hey, having a little kid hanging from there somehow could take a lot out of a guy. "So, thought of names yet?"

"Oh no, I'm not giving anything away." Troy shook his head. There was no way he would even give his best friend an advantage. He wanted it to be a surprise. And what he and Gabriella hadn't told anyone else yet was that they didn't want to know if the twins were boys or girls or both yet. They wanted to be just as surprised, though they thought of numerous names in the process just in case. "You'll find out when they're born just like everyone else."

"Gee, thanks." He replied sarcastically.

"Any time, buddy." Troy grinned like it was no big deal. He looked down at Gina, "So you ready to head home?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded eagerly. "I wanna watch some TV before dinner."

Chad chuckled. "You know, one of these days I'll be taking Tim and Gina home instead of you." He joked.

"And that's only gonna happen in your dreams." Troy informed him. "Now get home and get rest, would ya? Whenever those twins come I'm not letting you hold them if you're gonna fall asleep in two seconds."

"Alright." Chad nodded. "I can take a hint." And he took that as his cue to clock out for the day and leave as well.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"I'm home." Chad called sleepily around fifteen or so minutes later. He yawned and collapsed onto the couch in the living room.

"You sound whipped." Taylor McKessie-Danforth observed, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "Rough day?"

"More or less." Chad replied, looking at his wife. "Can I have some company?" He even put on a pouting face to lure her over.

Taylor only giggled as she walked over and sat down on his lap. She rested her head on top of his curly fro and wrapped her arms around his neck as he did around her back and waist. "This is good, because we have to talk."

"I'm too tired to talk. Can we just kiss?" Chad whined.

Taylor thought for a minute. "Tempting, but no." she answered, though the thought did sound more than nice. She sounded a bit tired herself. "But we do have a problem."

"I put the laundry in this morning before I left." Chad moaned. "Do I have to dry them and fold them and put them away, too?"

"Already done. You know I can't go back to work right away. At this rate I may even have to work from home." Taylor replied.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Is somethin wrong with Cheryl already?"

"Yeah, she takes after you too easily." Taylor muttered sarcastically.

"Tay.." Chad started.

"No Chad, this isn't about Cheryl." she shook her head. "It's about Dylan. I'm getting worried about him."

And yet Chad was still confused. Chad had known Dylan since the kid was about six, give or take a few years. And even though they weren't related Chad was still Dylan's father; he knew everything that Dill liked and hated and he couldn't think of a single thing that could be wrong with the boy.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What could be wrong with Dylan?"

"Come see for yourself." Taylor sighed. She got up off of Chad and headed upstairs. Chad followed behind until they ended up in the thirteen-year-old's room. Their eyes fell on the adolescent male who was sleeping against his schoolbooks, along with numerous papers, which were scattered across the floor.

"He looks tired, too." Chad observed quietly, not wanting to wake him up.

"I got a call from one of his teachers saying that he was falling asleep in class." Taylor explained. "He's never done that before. Dylan's always so focused on his studies."

"That's because you've been helping him with his homework since he was nine." Chad couldn't help but smile. Even though Dylan was adopted, most people thought that he really was Taylor's son because he took after her so much.

"Consider the flattery appreciated." Taylor noted. "But he's been like this for nearly a week. That's how long we've had the baby here. I think maybe his sister is too much for him right now. Dylan needs to focus on his studies and he can't do that if he's awake more than half the night."

"And I thought me almost falling asleep at work was a problem." Chad muttered.

Taylor's head shot over to him. "What was that?"

"Nothing." he lied quickly. He turned to face Taylor. "So what are we gonna do?"

Taylor was about to answer when a cry filled the house. She sighed and brushed some hair out of her face. "Cheryl again." she sighed. "She's been crying all day."

"You haven't gotten much sleep either, huh?" Chad asked. "What about that nanny we talked about hiring?"

"Chad Danforth, I am not leaving our baby girl alone in this house with a complete stranger." Taylor insisted. "And if memory serves, your response to the thought in the beginning was, 'the day I leave my daughter with an adult or boy I don't know is the day that I give up watching sports completely and trade it in for sappy soap operas'."

"Well I did say that..." Chad admitted. How impeccable it was that Taylor could remember almost anything he said word for word.

"Maybe we should discuss this at dinner." Taylor suggested. "I have to get get Cheryl."

"Ok. I'll get her next round." Chad promised. He watched as Taylor walked into the nursery room across the hall and sighed. If he was tired from watching his own baby at home and helping watch plenty of kids at a daycare center, he could only imagine how tired Taylor was not going to work and staying in with the baby all day. He actually felt kind of useless, not completely sure what to do half the time. He turned back to his son when he heard him stir.

Dylan yawned as he slowly sat up and turned to Chad. "Dad?" he asked. "How long have you been home?"

"About ten minutes." Chad replied. He stepped into the bedroom and sat on Dylan's bed. The room was decorated with some of Dylan's artwork and had a few toy instruments from a few years back, not to mention plenty of books. "Your mom told me that you fell asleep in class. I mean, I know a lot of the stuff can be boring..."

"No, none of it's boring at all." Dylan shook his head. "Well, except for history, but only because I usually get the events mixed up. But I was just really tired today."

"You sure it's just today?" Chad asked. "C'mon kiddo, what's really bugging you?"

"It's nothing, really." Dylan shook his head. He paused for a minute before saying anything else, still acting as though there were nothing wrong. "I should get back to my homework. I've got a lot of stuff to do."

"Alright." Chad reluctantly agreed. "You need me to get Mom to help you with anything?"

"No, I'm alright for now." he shook his head.

Chad sighed and slowly walked out of the room. He walked into the nursery and leaned up against the wall by the door. "Need any help in here?" he asked Taylor, even though the crying had ceased slightly.

"Any chance you could get a bottle going? My hands are kind of full." Taylor replied hopefully.

"Sure. Let's go downstairs." Chad agreed. The couple went down into the kitchen, and as Chad began preparing the drink, Cheryl twitched slightly in Taylor's arms, seeming a bit irritated. "She's hungry, huh?"

"She does that when she wants milk." Taylor replied. "And waves her arms when she wants to be held. I've been pretty much nowhere but home for a week. I have the idea by now."

"You need a break, you know." Chad said as he poured some milk from a container into the bottle. "Maybe I could take her to the daycare center and me and the other guys can watch her with the other babies."

"Chad, no." Taylor insisted. "You'd be playing favorites all day and you know it. And Cheryl can't be surrounded by numerous other babies that need watching at the same time she does. She needs special attention from both of us. And I have yet to see you giving her some for yourself."

"Can you pull the guilty card another night?" Chad asked, handing over the bottle once it was heated.

Taylor merely eyed him and handed him Cheryl instead of taking the bottle. "Not this time. Look, you feed her and I'll get dinner started." She walked into the kitchen and began looking through the cabinets to see what the easiest thing to make would be, aside form leftover they'd had the past couple of nights. "Dylan, can you please start setting the table?" she called.

Chad sighed and sat down on the couch in the living room, cradling the baby in his arms and feeding her the milk. "What are we gonna do with him, anyway?"

"We're going to talk to him like the mature adults that we are and see what form of agreement we can come to." Taylor answered simply. She paused and rubbed her chin, smiling slyly. "Actually, maybe you should leave that to me."

"Hey, I can be mature if I wanted to." Chad gasped, sounding as though he were insulted.

"After that belching contest you had with Zeke the other day?" Dylan asked as he came downstairs. "Yeah, real mature."

"Yeha, well you still laughing at fart jokes isn't getting much more maturer either." Chad informed Dylan.

"Ok, enough of that disgusting sense of humor you two seem to share." Taylor shuddered. "We're never going to eat at that rate."

"So what's for dinner then?" Chad asked.

Before anyone could make any suggestions, Cheryl started crying again. Chad blinked, not even realizing that as he talked he had removed the bottle from her mouth involuntarily.

Taylor moaned and rubbed her forehead. "Chad what did I just say about feeding her?"

Chad slowly turned his head to the baby, then the bottle, then back at the baby. "Oops..." He slowly stuck the bottle back in her mouth and sighed with relief as the crying ended.

Dylan shook his head at his father and then turned to his mother. "Hey Mom, how about we order in tonight?" he suggested. "Maybe a pizza and some salad?"

"I like that idea." Taylor smiled as she walked over to the phone. "I'll order some now." As she dialed the number she gave Dylan a knowing look. "But you're still setting the table."

Dylan smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Saw that comin." He took out some plates from the cupboard and then went into the dining room to set them up. Once that was done he walked back into the living room and sat on the couch, temporarily watching Chad feed Cheryl.

"You're right, Tay, she does take after me." Chad joked. "She's slurping down the whole thing."

Taylor sighed as she heard him, then hung up the phone when the order was placed. "Feed it slowly Chad or else she'll get gas." She sat down on the couch beside Dylan and quirked an eyebrow. "Now about school today..." she started.

"I'll finish my homework after dinner." Dylan promised. "I'm sorry, I just kind of fell asleep."

"Less than a half hour after you got home." Taylor finished for him. "And you fell asleep in class? That's the third time this week, Dylan. What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing." he shook his head.

"Look I'm telling you, if you're bored with the material then just say. We'll understand. Feel free to slack off." Chad shrugged.

Taylor folded her arms and gave her husband and icy stare.

Chad bit his tongue, "On second thought, scratch off the slacking idea. Save the slacking for a slow day when you deserve it."

Taylor shook her head. Note to self, never let Chad give a pep talk when it came to schoolwork. "Dylan you know you can talk to us if you need to." she said calmly. "Does it have anything to do with Cheryl?"

"What?" Dylan asked.

"We'll understand if she's been keeping you up most of the night. She's been doing that with us, too." Taylor replied. "If it's too much for you then I'm sure you could stay at someone else's house until things are more settled..."

"No, there's no need to." he insisted, shaking his head.

"Dylan, schoolwork has to come first." Taylor replied.

"Before family?" he asked doubtfully. "It's not happening, Mom. No way."

"Well then how are we supposed to help you if you won't tell us what's wrong?" Taylor asked.

"Nothing is wrong!" Dylan insisted.

"Someone's hormones are kicking in." Chad sang.

"Or he could be cranky due to sleep deprivation." Taylor suggested. "Look I'm only saying-"

"I'm not going anywhere." Dylan insisted as he stood up. "I don't care if she keeps me up for a month. I'm not leaving this house." He started heading to the stairs until Taylor got up and tried going after him.

"Dylan what has gotten into you?" she questioned.

"I'm just trying to stay here!" Dylan replied, turning to her. "I'm not going to someone else's house cause then I'll be stuck there until I'm sent somewhere else. It sounds more like you're trying to get rid of me."

Taylor shook her head and spun to Chad. "Ok, what were you saying to him when I wasn't around?" she asked.

"What?" Chad blinked. "I never told him anything. I mean, I told him plenty of stuff, but they were never anything bad."

Taylor folded her arms and looked at him doubtfully. "Ok can you please show your serious side at some point before we turn eighty?" Before Chad could even answer, Taylor turned back to Dylan. "And what makes you think we would ever get rid of you?"

"Saw it on TV." Dylan admitted. "The kid was kicked out of his house and was told to never come back."

"Ok what did I tell you about believing what's on TV?" she inquired.

Dylan sighed, "Don't always believe anything you watch unless there's some kind of proof that something like that happened or it's based off on a real story but even then it's not all accurate it shouldn't be believed." He paused and thought for a minute. "Or something like that."

"Close enough." Taylor nodded. "And what did I tell you the day we brought Cheryl home?"

"That even if we're not related I'd still always be her brother?" he answered a bit questionably.

"Exactly." Taylor said. Her look softened and she put a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, we would never even think to get rid of you. Your father and I only want what's best for you. That's why the offer stands if you need somewhere else to focus."

"I can just go to the library?" Dylan shrugged.

"For homework, yes. For sleeping..." Taylor replied. She lowered her voice, "You have no idea how long in advance I've been trying to plan that for myself."

Dylan chuckled.

"Uh, guys?" Chad asked as crying filled the room once again. The two turned to see Chad trying to burp Cheryl, with her tiny head on his shoulder facing his backside and his free hand patting her back. "I'm trying to burp her, how come she's not burping?" he asked.

"Well maybe you need to..." Dylan started.

But then the crying stopped and Chad froze. Cheryl calmed down but she had left a little something on Chad's back, mainly his shoulder area and at the ends of his hair. "What did she just leave me on my back?" he asked, turning around.

Taylor covered her mouth right away, trying to suppress her giggles, even though plenty of them still escaped her. Dylan automatically started laughing, even at the unseemly sight. "I think she kind of upchucked on your backchuck." he joked.

"Oh so you're gonna be like that then, are you?" Chad smirked. He handed Cheryl over to Taylor and pulled his shirt off. He started chasing Dylan up the stairs. "You're gonna get it now, I'm gonna attack you with my shirt!"

"Hey, I don't want baby barf on me, there's enough of it on you!" Dill gasped as he tried to escape.

"You can't run forever, it's gonna get you!" Chad called in between his laughs.

That was the good thing about the family; when something like that happened, even if they were more than exhausted, they would feed off of each others' energy and start laughing about everything. Even Taylor laughed as she cleaned up Cheryl, almost acting in the process as though she was rewarding her for a job well done.

"Something tells me I'll have to go a night without touching his hair after that." she realized.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Too bad the peace didn't last all night. Around eleven, Cheryl's crying began once more and the three woke up instantly. They went into the nursery and Taylor began cradling Cheryl as Chad yawned in the doorway and Dylan leaned up against the wall rubbing his eyes.

"If she keeps crying like that she'll be turning as red as a cherry." Chad stated sleepily.

"And if I wasn't so tired I'd be surprised that you and Mom actually heard her." Dylan yawned sarcastically.

Chad's eyes widened. "Hey!"

"Boys, it's too late to argue." Taylor sighed. "Clearly we're doing something wrong if she keeps waking us up."

"Maybe it's the music playing." Chad suggested, referring to the quiet symphony of Beethoven or Bach or whatever musician it was playing in the background. "She probably so bored from it she's crying every night."

Taylor shot him a look. "So then what do you suggest, Mr. Baby Expert?"

"Is she hungry or wet?" Chad asked.

"She's not wet." Taylor shook her head as she checked. "And it doesn't sound like she's hungry either."

"And if she wanted to be held, she'd stop crying by now." Dylan added as he turned off the music before sitting back on a nearby chair.

"Well what else can we do?" Taylor asked as she started rocking the baby gently. "Sing to her?"

"Why not?" Chad asked. "My mom did it to me all the time. I still remember her singing to my little sis before she was two."

"So then you try." Taylor suggested.

"Why don't you?" Chad replied.

"I was the one who fell asleep to the 'boring music' when I was her age, not by a lullaby." Taylor said.

"Ok you were really missin out, then." Chad said, more awake now. "Let me show you how it's done." He took Cheryl carefully and slowly walked back over to the crib, cradling her in his arms. He began singing quietly to the melody in his head that he practically grew up with.

_"Paradise untouched by man_

_Within this world blessed with love_

_A simple life_

_They live in peace_

_Put your faith in what you most believe in_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Trust your heart_

_Let fate decide_

_To guide these lives we see."_

He made every motion he did gentle and he actually sang in a soothing voice. Cheryl's sobs slowly dispersed in the air and she seemed a bit calmer the more he sang.

_"Two worlds, one family_

_Beneath the shelter of the trees_

_Only love can enter here_

_A simple life_

_They live in peace_

_Put your faith in what you most believe in_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Trust your heart_

_Let fate decide_

_To guise these lives we see_

_To guide these lives we see."_

By the time the next verse was complete, the sobbing had completely died down and Chad continued singing as he started tucking her into the crib. At one point he gently tickled the infant, which made her giggle in response and then he rubbed her head and continued singing, still doing everything in almost one complete fluid motion as thoughts of sleep began entering Cheryl's mind at the song.

_"Put your faith in what you most believe in_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Trust your heart_

_Let fate decide_

_To guide these lives we see_

_Somewhere something is calling for you_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Trust your heart_

_Let fate decide_

_To guide these lives we see_

_Two worlds, two worlds_

_Two worlds, one family_

_Two worlds."_

Taylor smiled and shook her head as she walked over to Chad. "You actually did it. I'm impressed." she whispered.

"And you thought I was completely useless." Chad teased with a smile as he turned to her. "Something you'd like to say to me?"

"I suppose I should say thank you for your help." she smiled, and then gave him a single kiss. "I would say this qualifies as your one miracle working moment for the year."

Chad chuckled. "You're forgetting about the part where you run your fingers through my hair and we kiss again."

"We're still in the nursery, Romeo." she replied. "And as clean as I know your hair is now, I'm still not touching it after the gift Cheryl left in it for you."

"Oh c'mon, you know you want to." Chad teased. He tried to grab Taylor, but she took a step back. "Come on, you know you want to get to bed." she mocked him playfully.

"Oh, alright." Chad sighed. He put his arm around her and they started leaving the room until he noticed Dylan, who was now sound asleep on the chair. "Hey Tay, check it out." he smiled.

Taylor stopped and turned to look at the teenager. She smiled at the sight, seeing how peaceful he looked sleeping, and much more comfortably than against his books. "You really did have a miracle moment tonight." she told Chad.

Chad smiled and nodded. "Peace and quiet for the first time in a week." he sighed contently.

Taylor smiled in agreement and they looked at each other. "Let's enjoy it while it lasts."

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So how was it? Sweet? Lame? Decent? Boring? Anything? As you know, I do not own HSM nor the song "Two Worlds" and I actually used the version by Corbin Bleu (I was listening to the song as I typed the words out). Man it's a good song. ^^ So if you want me to keep doing this, let me know. And like I said, if you have any ideas feel free to let me know. Don't worry, there will be other couples involved in these oneshots, especially a couple for Ryan and Kelsi, considering a lack thereof in the story itself. I shall work something out, especially if we wanna see Ryan sell his hats. xD Oh c'mon, you all know he's got cool hats! Anyway, that wraps it up for tonight and I do not think I have anything else to say. So, have a nice night then and I'll be back wiht an update on something tomorrow. C=


	2. Get Outta There!

So here is the next chapter. Not too far after the first chapter, as far as the timeline goes but like I said, everything is no no particular order. So if one chapter is like three years later and the next one jumps back two years or something, I apologize for any confusion. All I'll say is, don't blame me for getting the ideas at different times...blame it on my brain.  
Disclaimer: Still not owner of HSM._  
Chapter Two Summary: Chad wants to get Taylor out of the house for a night after being cooped up in there with Cheryl for long enough; Dylan offers to babysit his sister while his folks go out. Elsewhere, Gabriella's twins are nearly a month late for delivery and she desperately wants to know why they're taking so long. (Genre: Family/Angst)  
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**Chapter Two: Get Outta There!**

"I can't take this anymore!" Gabriella nearly yelled as she paced around the Danforth's kitchen. "Why are they coming so late? Is something wrong with them? I mean, I know I feel them...but why aren't they coming out? What am I doing wrong?"

Taylor leaned up against the cold refrigerator and sighed. "Gabriella they're probably just a little late it all."

"We're way past late, Taylor." she replied. "Two weeks is late. This...this is completely tardy!"

"And this is you completely freaking out." Taylor told her.

"And what do you have to freak out about?" Gabriella inquired. "Last I checked you had a perfectly healthy baby. Due exactly three days prior to her due date!"

Man how Taylor hated the mood swings that accompanies pregnancy. She hoped so badly that she wasn't as on and off as Gabriella was right now. All she knew - and would probably admit to from that time - is that she got cranky very easily. That, and how she always had the nastiest food cravings. Pickle juice and orange juice mixed together with a dish of french fries covered in cranberry sauce. Taylor shuddered just thinking about it.

"Maybe the due date was just mixed up, or they're not ready yet." she suggested. "Look, I wasn't exactly born when expected either. First it was supposed to be Christmas time. Then they changed it to the first week in January. I didn't pop out until the last week in January."

"Yeah, and if memory serves from the stories your parents told, you were one tiny infant." Gabriella stated.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Worst two years of my life." She remembered fragments of the things her parents made her wear as an infant and toddler and how they barely ever took their eyes off of her just because she was small.

"Those were the first two years of your life." Gabriella quirked an eyebrow.

"Exactly." she nodded. "Look, all I'm saying is maybe the twins need a few more weeks. The important thing is that they're going to be healthy babies and that's all that should matter."

Gabriella opened her mouth to counter until a cry filled the house. Again. "Speaking of healthy babies..."

Taylor sighed heavily and moved some hair out of her face. "I'll be right back." she told Gabriella as she headed up the stairs. "That girl takes after her father." she muttered.

Gabriella overheard and couldn't help but laugh. A female Chad...and only at a month old, tops! Why would have thought?

Too bad that didn't make her worry of her own babies vanish. Gabriella desperately wanted them out, even to just feel one contraction. But had she felt nothing? No. Were they really being that stubborn? Gabriella sighed herself and walked over to the nearest mirror she could find. She looked at her stomach, which was clearly large because of how far along she was and the fact that she was holding two children rather than one.

"Why don't you two come out of there any time soon?" she complained quietly, rubbing her belly. She looked at it sadly until her head snapped over to the staircase as she saw Taylor come down with Cheryl in her arms.

"She's hungry again. I have to make a fresh bottle." Taylor explained.

"You get the bottle going, I'll hold her." Gabriella offered, her mind off the twins for the moment.

Taylor nodded and handed Cheryl over before starting to dig through the refrigerator. "See what I mean?" she asked. "She goes through at least six bottles a day. That's how many meals Chad goes through."

"So she's her father's daughter." Gabriella shrugged. "Sometimes Gina's like that, too. The way she handles a basketball like Troy does."

"Yes, but at least she has your talent and intelligence." Taylor pointed out, pouring milk into a clean bottle.

"Hey, Dylan took more after you than Chad, remember?" Gabriella asked. "Your intelligence, musical talent..."

"And Chad's sense of humor." Taylor finished. "Though I have no idea where his artistic skills come from."

"Could be from his biological parents." Gabriella suggested. "Besides, how can you complain about talent?"

"Yeah, that is true." Taylor admitted.

"Hey speaking of Dylan, is he doing any better in school?" she wondered.

"Yeah. Cheryl's finally calmed down at night so we get more sleep which means any sleeping Dylan has to do it done during lunch, if anything else." Taylor nodded. She finished heating up the milk and then made sure it was alright for Cheryl to drink. She took the baby from Gabriella and started feeding her.

Gabriella raised an eyebrow curiously. "You give her formula?" she wondered.

"Yeah." Taylor nodded.

"Why?" she asked. "You know there's a lower risk of her getting allergies if you breast feed her."

"Yeah well, it's not happening. I'll take my chances." Taylor answered. "Besides, if it's just allergies to pollen then it's barely anything. The only real allergy we have to worry about is Chad's reaction to cinnamon."

"You think Cheryl picked up on that, too?"

"Not sure, but I'm not taking any chances. So what, you didn't give Gina or Timothy formula?"

"Not that often. Besides, you know I think it's important for kids to get close to their parents."

"Putting them in the room directly next to yours or your own room and breast feeding them isn't the only way, Gabs."

"I know." And now that they were on the subject of babies in general again, Gabriella's complaining returned. "So when am I going to feed the twins?"

"When they come out." Taylor insisted. "Which will be in a manner of days at this rate. Look, just enjoy the freedom while it lasts. Cause contractions aren't something you want to deal with."

"You know you were just being sensitive." Gabriella replied. "And don't tell me about contractions, I went through them twice."

"Ok, so did you complain every time they came because you were in searing pain?" Taylor questioned.

"Well...not constantly." she admitted.

Taylor shrugged. "I rest my case."

"We're back!" Dylan's voice echoed as he walked in through the front door. Chad and Troy followed behind, as well as Troy with his and Gabriella's kids.

Gina didn't hesitate to run over to her mother and wrap her arms around her leg. "Is it time yet, Mommy?" she asked hopefully. "Are they coming?"

Gabriella sighed. "No, not yet."

"Hey come on, they're just keeping you in suspense and you know it." Troy said calmly as he hugged Gabriella. "And right now they're probably starving so how about we go home and get food going?"

"Alright." Gabriella gave in with a nod. She just couldn't say no to her husband. Besides, half the time what he said made more sense than what anyone else said...which was odd because sometimes Troy wasn't necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed. Not like Gabriella would ever hold that against him, of course. But at least if Troy was at work or anything, Gabriella could still vent to Taylor. She gave her friend a hug. "I'll see you alter, ok?"

"Alright." Taylor nodded. "Say hi to the outside world for me."

"I will." Gabriella replied. Troy handed her Timothy and she took him before following Troy and Gina out. "Bye guys."

"See you tomorrow!" Troy called. "And your welcome for the lift, Chad!"

Chad smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Thank you!" Dylan called as a substitute for his father. "I'm gonna go put my books upstairs." he told his parents quickly before heading up to his room.

Chad smiled and walked over to Taylor. "And now that the peanut gallery is gone..." he joked, which made Taylor laugh faintly. He smiled and kissed her before wrapping his arms around her. "How's my girls?"

"Tired, but otherwise fine." Taylor answered. "She has your appetite."

"Well then you know she's gonna be a big girl." Chad smiled.

"Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that." Taylor nodded. She wiggled out of Chad's hug and he took Cheryl as Taylor put the now empty bottle in the kitchen sink to be cleaned.

"So have you started working yet?" Chad wondered as the now somewhat sleepy baby tugged on one of Chad's strands of hair.

"I haven't gotten a chance to." she shook her head. "Gabriella's worried sick that something's wrong with her twins, and I've been busy with Cheryl so I can't even crack open my laptop for one round of solitaire."

"What happened to working from home at this rate?" Chad wondered, recalling their discussion a few weeks back.

"And how am I supposed to do that when Cheryl needs constant attention?" Taylor replied. "At this rate I just might have to cancel everything."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Chad said sternly. He lifted Taylor's chin to look at him. "You are not canceling anything. You're just tied up is all. You need a break, a night out on the town."

Taylor shook her head, causing Chad to drop his hand. "And who would watch the kids, Chad?"

"I could watch Cheryl." Dylan offered as he came back downstairs and leaned up against the counter from the living room.

"Dylan, that's sweet," Taylor replied, "but we need someone to watch you _and_ Cheryl. You're not old enough to stay home alone yet."

"I'm thirteen, Mom." Dylan shrugged. "Just have dinner here and then go see a movie or something."

"Listen to the kid, Tay. He offers good advice." Chad said.

"You're only saying that to get a date." Taylor informed him. She turned back to Dylan. "We can't just leave you here with a one month old on your own. Suppose something comes up?"

Dylan shrugged. "Troy and Gabriella are on speed dial. All the emergency numbers are on the credenza. I can handle it."

Taylor looked back and forth between the boys. "You're in a conspiracy against me, aren't you?"

Chad chuckled. "Just one night. C'mon Tay, you need to get out there."

"In what?" Taylor asked. "I have nothing to wear that won't reveal my body. I don't have my figure back yet."

"You got plenty of figure." Chad offered. "You've got the three f's. Fine, figure, and..." He paused to try and think of a third word. "And..."

"Feminine?" Dylan offered.

"I like it." Chad snapped his fingers. "Fine Feminine Figure. Go with what he says."

She sighed. "Look I appreciate this, but..."

"But what?" Dylan asked. "Come on, you can't stay in the house forever. You need a night to yourself. And I can always call you if there's an emergency."

"Yeah and we know better than to think he'll throw a wild party instead." Chad offered. "And hey, it'll give Dill and Cheryl some quality bonding time."

"You mean like how I suggested that for you and her last week?" Taylor folded her arms, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah...I'm getting to that...." Chad said slowly. He sighed and gently handed Cheryl to Dylan and pulled Taylor closer to him. "C'mon Tay, think about it." he said temptingly. "We could go to the movies. See a horror flick. I can be your body guard." He kissed her and then whispered seductively in her ear, "Making out in the back row corner."

Taylor felt the chills creep down her body. Why was he doing this to her? And why was her own son pushing her out of the house? Truly it was a conspiracy.

"Come on, Mom." Dylan said as his parents broke apart. "Cheryl wants you to go. Come on Cherry, tell her." He looked down at the infant, who only replied with a yawn. "Hear that yawn, Mom? That was a yawn telling you to go. She wants you to have fun tonight."

"Definitely a female Chad in the making, trying to kick me out of the house." Taylor said to herself. She waited for a minute, then took a long deep breath. "Alright," she gave in. "But if I want to go home..."

Chad smiled widely and kissed her deeply before pulling away. "We'll be in the car in a matter of seconds. Got it. Now let's get dinner started so we can get out of here. Or better yet, you go find something to wear and I'll start dinner."

"But..." Taylor started.

Chad had already begun rushing around the kitchen to prepare dinner.

"And I'll go put Cheryl in her crib for the time being." Dill added with a smile as he ran upstairs.

"Ok, but..." she tried again. She sighed and hit her forehead. "It's going to be a long night."

"Gabs, please eat something?" Troy asked as the family sat down for dinner.

Gabriella picked her head up as she put her fork down. "I'm sorry, Troy." she apologized. "I guess I'm still worried."

"They're fine Gabriella, I promise." Troy said. "Just give them a little time."

"But I haven't felt any contractions at all." Gabriella complained.

"What's contriton?" Gina wondered.

Troy chuckled. "Contraction." he corrected. "It's a sign that means the baby or babies would be coming in a number of days."

"Troy I'm telling you, I'm not feeling any..." Gabriella started. She stopped and froze in her seat, gripping her stomach.

"Gabs, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly.

"The twins just kicked again!" she exclaimed. She stayed in that position for a minute; Gabriella had felt them kick before but bit like they just had. It was a harder kick, like they really wanted out soon. And a few minutes later Gabriella's eyes widened again. "Troy..." she breathed.

"What?" he asked quietly, leaning forward in his seat.

"I think I just felt the first contraction!" she exclaimed as soon as it passed over.

"Cheryl why do you keep crying?" Dylan moaned a few hours later as he stared at his baby sister in her crib. "Tell me what's wrong?"

But there was no response from the infant. She kept sobbing rather loudly.

Well at least she wasn't wet or anything. That was the good news. The bad news was that he still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. "Cherry, please talk to me?" he begged.

But only more crying came.

Dylan bit one of his nails, worried about what to do now. What would his parents say if they came back to a crying baby and a worried son? They might think he wasn't responsible anymore. If only he could think of a plan....

Then he raised an eyebrow, an idea somehow coming to him. He remembered how his father got Cheryl to fall asleep with a lullaby for the first time in a week. And it had made Dylan fall asleep, as well. Remembering the song in his head, he started singing it quietly and it was only a matter of time before Cheryl was sound asleep. He sighed with relief and tucked her in, smiling.

"We're home." He heard Chad call from downstairs.

Dylan left the nursery and headed downstairs. "Hey." he greeted. "How was your date?"

"It was...productive." Taylor answered after a minute with an actual smile. "I really needed that night out. Thanks for pushing me to it."

"Yeah, you finally get into it after an hour thinking about calling here to check on them." Chad chuckled.

"Hey!" Taylor gasped, hitting him on the arm. "I was generally concerned with my kids."

"Don't worry, we were fine. Nothing broken, damaged, destroyed, or harmed." Dill promised.

"So you were really fine here on your own?" Chad wondered. "There were no problems?"

"No, of course not." Dylan shook his head.

"And Cheryl didn't give you any issues?" Chad asked.

"Course not." he shook his head.

Chad smiled and nodded as he turned to Taylor. "See, Tay? I told you they'd be fine."

Taylor cocked her head slightly. "Maybe you're right." she agreed. She turned to Dylan. "Maybe we'll leave you alone with Cheryl more often. You really proved you can handle her."

Dylan's smile faded. "Huh?"

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "You really can do it, kiddo. We know you can do it again if you want to."

"Oh...that's great..." he said slowly.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Honey, what's the matter? You juts said everything went perfectly?"

"Actually, it didn't go that great." Dylan admitted. "See, it started out just fine. I had the TV on down here really quietly so she could sleep. And then she started crying and I gave her the binky but she spit it out five minutes later. So I tried feeding her but then she burped on my shoulder and didn't touch the milk. She calmed down for a while after I bounced her up and down a little but then ten minutes later she woke up with a wet diaper and I couldn't figure out how to get a new one on so I kinda used tape to keep it on her...and then when I put her back in the crib she just kept crying and I tried everything I could think of, and she didn't fall asleep until I sang her the lullaby a few minutes ago. So, I did have problems and I couldn't handle it. I'm sorry I ruined your night."

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances. Taylor then got down to Dylan's level. "Dylan, we're not disappointed in you." she promised. "Why didn't you just tell us this in the first place?"

"Cause you guys had so much fun." he answered.

"That doesn't mean you can lie about being comfortable watching your baby sister." Taylor replied. "We appreciate your help but the next time something doesn't go well you have to tell us instead of lying."

"Ok." Dylan nodded.

"But you did know how to fix it in the end." Chad smiled. "You did good, Dill."

"Thanks." Dill grinned. "So really, how was your night?"

"That really was perfect." Taylor answered with a smile.

"See?" Dylan replied. "We were right. You just needed to get out of here."

* * *

Yeah, that's all I got for today. And plus, I got work in less than an hour. So I will try and update something tomorrow, but I'm not sure bout Sunday yet. Long story, but I'll be out most of the day. So I hope this chapter wasn't disappointing andif you have any suggestions at all, you can tell me. I have been thinking if I should put the key couples in each chapter in the summaries or not, though. What do you think? Anyway, I'ma head off now so everyone have a good night and a happy Friday. C=


	3. Time

Thank you for the reviews so far. It sounds like the first two chapters were well-liked. C= So, here's hoping this next chapter is liked as well. I have a couple of ideas for chapters as far as a few years later goes, but I'm going to see if I can put in another chapter before then, even if everything won't be completely outta order. But nothing's for sure yet, so I'll see what i can work out.  
Disclaimer: Do you really think I have enough ca-ching to own HSM? XD_  
Chapter Three Summary: Everyone is now officially freaking out. Gabriella thinks her worry can now go away, but when everyone is at the hospital to be there for her, will they leave with two new arrivals? (Genre: Family)  
_

* * *

**Chapter Three: Time**

"We're back." Troy said as he stepped into his house with Gabriella behind him.

Chad picked his head up from the Sports Illustrated magazine he was reading as he sat on the couch of their living room. "Hey. How was your night?"

"Great." Troy replied. "The production went off without a hitch."

"And Stella was great, too." Gabriella smiled, referring to her cousin. "She really came a long way since I last heard her sing. She even combined English and Spanish into one song perfectly."

"Well you don't hear that anymore." Chad said as he stood up.

"Where's the kids?" Troy asked.

"Dill's been upstairs watching them almost the entire night." he replied. "All he asked for help with was making dinner and putting Tim to sleep."

"Yeah, he can be a little rowdy sometimes." Troy chuckled. "Any real problems?"

"Almost broke a vase at some point, but no worries." Chad smiled heroically. "I saved the day."

"You saved the day after almost destroying it, you mean." Troy laughed.

Chad just rolled his eyes at his friend.

"What about Gina?" Gabriella wondered. "How was she?"

Chad shrugged. "I think Dylan spent most of the time with her. It's like she was an almost perfect angel?"

Troy raised an eyebrow. "You saying my little girl isn't perfect?" he asked.

"What? No!" Chad gasped. "I'm just saying, except for spilling some dinner on the floor..."

"That explains it." Troy interrupted. "You poisoned it!"

"I did not." Chad replied defensively.

"Uh, yeah you did. What, did you risk killing Tim, too?" Troy questioned.

Gabriella smiled and rolled her eyes at the boys' playful arguing. Sure they sounded like they meant everything, but deep down they were just making jokes. It's what they always did. Silently excusing herself, Gabriella made her way upstairs. She first went into Tim's room to check on him, only to see him sound asleep in his now big boy bed. His crib had to go to one of the twins, even though he was so attached to it. But it also meant one less crib to buy. Of course the only issue was waiting for the twins. And at the rate Gabriella was going, it couldn't be too much longer now. She had been experiencing more contractions each day so the worry she once had for a miscarriage had vanished completely and she knew she had nothing to worry about...especially after one of them gave her a hard kick in the middle of the night.

Gently moving some of Tim's hair out of his face, Gabriella smiled and quietly kissed him good night before going into Gina's room. She leaned up against the doorway and smiled when she saw her four-year-old playing with Dylan.

"Having fun in here?" she asked after a minute.

"Hi Mommy!" Gina exclaimed, running over to her and hugging her leg.

"Hey baby." Gabriella smiled. She would have loved to lean down and pick her daughter up, but that was a little hard to do with such a big stomach. She turned to Dylan after managing to only rub Gina's head. "How were they?"

"I had to ask my dad for help a couple of times." Dylan admitted. "But Gina was amazing tonight. Well...except for when she made me play 'Pretty Pretty Princess' and make me be purple."

Gabriella couldn't help but giggle. "Did you get to wear a wonderful crown, Princess Dylan?"

"Yeah, for a whole hour." he blushed. "She kicked my butt, of course."

"Well thank you for watching her and Timothy." Gabriella smiled.

"No problem." he shook his head. There was no way after he had such a hard time watching his own baby sister that he could watch two slightly older kids on his own. That's why Chad had been somewhere in the house in case Dylan had ever needed any assistance. But hey, at least he didn't have to worry about changing any diapers. Helping Timothy go to the bathroom and give him fresh pull-ups, maybe, but nothing diaper-related.

Dylan took notice of Gabriella's body. "Hey, you're as big as a house." he smiled, referring to her stomach. And he wasn't saying that as a rude comment or anything; he had hoped at least that it sounded more as a compliment and helped Gabriella realize the twins were coming any time now.

Luckily Gabriella was able to tell that from the tone of his voice. "Yeah, I know." she admitted, even though she was still a bit self-conscious about her body. "But it's all for the twins."

"Well at least they're gonna be healthy, right?" Dylan shrugged.

"Right." Gabriella agreed. And she would be the first to notice Dylan's observation skills. Even though he was adopted, he did pick up qualities from both of his parents, similarly to the way Gina had a combination of Troy's athletic skills and Gabriella's brains. Timothy...well they weren't completely sure yet; after all he was only two. It could only make Gabriella wonder what the twins would be like, who they would most take after. She and Troy had so many talks about that, and Gabriella was trying to use her knowledge of dominant and recessive genes to try and figure out what traits they might get from each parent. One could have Troy's blue eyes and the other could have her brown eyes...or were they hazel? Maybe something like that, as Gabriella had never really took it upon herself to worry. They were just eyes, right? Besides Troy's eyes were the only ones that mattered to her.

"Hey Dill, we're leaving!" Chad called from downstairs.

"Coming, Dad." Dylan replied. He turned back to Gabriella. "Good night, Gabriella." he said to her before going downstairs. "Night, Gina."

"Bye bye, Dill!" Gina called happily.

Gabriella smiled at her little girl's reaction. Maybe in a few years Dylan could watch all of her kids by himself. Or maybe to be on the safe side, just two at a time.

Dylan headed downstairs and waited by the front door for Chad. Chad took notice of that and turned to Troy. "See you on Monday, man." he said, knowing that Troy would be leaving his two kids at the daycare center again.

"You got it." Troy agreed, hitting him a high five and then a quick man hug. "And we'll see you soon, ok Dill?" he asked, pointing to the teen.

"Yup." Dylan nodded.

Chad pointed at Troy, his finger poking his chest. "And you make sure to call us when Gabriella pops ok?"

"She is not going to explode, Chad." Troy rolled his eyes.

"He means when it's time." Dylan said.

"Oh..." Troy said slowly. "I knew that."

"Yeah. Sure you did." Chad nodded sarcastically. "See ya later, man." He and Dylan turned and walked out the door, heading out to the car.

Troy closed the door behind them and then headed upstairs. He walked into Gina's room where he saw his two girls. "Need a hand getting her into bed, Gabriella?" he teased slightly with a smile.

Gabriella turned to her husband and giggled. "Yeah, can you please tuck her in?" she asked.

"No problem." Troy agreed. "I'll meet you in the bedroom." He and Gabriella kissed quickly, and then Troy did his thing. He tucked Gina into bed, snuggling her in tight.

"Daddy, read me bedtime story?" she asked hopefully.

Troy chuckled. "Maybe another night, ok G? Mommy and I are a little tired."

"Ok." Gina nodded a bit sadly. She looked down and then right back up at Troy. "Just a quick one?"

"Ok." Troy gave in with a smile. He took a deep breath and then began talking as fast as he could, barely taking any breaths in between words. "Onceuponatimetherewerethreebears whometGoldilocksandshedrankallofhtierporridgeandcrashedinthebaby'sbedandthentheycaughtherinandchased heroutbutthenthebabybearwent afterherandthentheystartedtalkingandmadeanewfriend andtheyalllivedhappilyeveraftertheend."

Gina started laughing. "That was too fast, Daddy. And that's not how the story goes."

Troy blinked. How did she catch all that? Man she really did take after Gabriella!

So he had no choice but to tell her a real quick story...much slower this time.

---

"Troy, Troy wake up!" Gabriella gasped around two a.m.

Troy moaned and turned in his sleep. "Just five more minutes." he moaned.

"No Troy, really. You have to." Gabriella begged.

Troy's eyes slowly fluttered open as he turned to face Gabriella. "What is it?" he yawned.

"It's time." Gabriella replied.

"Time for breakfast?" he asked.

"No." she shook her head.

"Time for a game?"

"No."

"Time to set out fireworks for the forty-ninth of July?"

"There's no such date!"

"Then what?"

"Troy, it's time."

"Time for what?"

"That babies!"

Troy's eyes widened as he sat up right away. "The twins?" he gasped. "Oh crap!" He ran right out of bed and rushed to get everything together. "Are you sure?" he asked as he pulled a bag out of their closet.

"Unless I forgot to go to the bathroom while I was sleeping." Gabriella insisted, referring to the wet bed.

"Ok, ok." Troy replied quickly. "Just start breathing like you did with Gina and Tim and let's get you to the car."

Gabriella nodded and obeyed. "Gina...and Tim..." she said in between breaths.

"Right, we have to get them, too." Troy realized. He made a mad dash to get his two kids out of bed and get them out to the car. Once they were in, he ran back inside to help Gabriella out. That took no more than five minutes and before they knew it, Troy was speeding to the hospital. Forced to stop at a red light shortly after, he quickly dug out his cell phone and put it on speaker, then dialed Chad's number. He would have gone for his parents or Gabriella's mom, but Gabriella's mom was away on business and had no phone service, and Troy's parents were on a plane back from their whatever number honeymoon they were on. Troy then quickly handed the phone to Gina in the back seat. "Hold onto this." he told her.

Gina replied with a nod and did as she was told, trying to stay awake in the middle of all of it.

Troy sped again as soon as the light turned green. And then he heard Chad's sleepy voice answer on the other line.

"What do you want?" he moaned. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Chad...hospital...now!" Troy gasped right away.

"What do we need to go there for?" he yawned.

"The babies are coming, man!" Troy nearly yelled.

"Oh? Is that all?" Chad asked, most likely rubbing his eyes by now. "Oh ok, we'll be there after breakfast...." He stopped in mid sentence. Troy didn't even have time to picture the look Chad must have right now, but if he did he was sure it would be at least wide-eyed with a dropped jaw. "Wait, they're coming now!" he gasped loudly.

"no, they're coming in six months." Troy said sarcastically, now annoyed. "Of course they're coming now!"

"They'll be coming sooner than now if you keep saying that!" Gabriella forced out in between breaths, clutching her stomach.

"Just get to the hospital as soon as you can." Troy told Chad. "Gina, hang up the phone."

"Wait, which..." Chad started to ask, but the click of the phone hanging up cut him off.

"Just a little longer, Gabs." Troy promised as he nearly ran through another red light. "Just keep breathing, we'll get to the hospital in plenty of time. Before you even know it.

---

An hour had passed since they arrived at the hospital and troy was pacing around the waiting room rapidly. Gina was falling in and out of sleep on one of the chairs and Timothy was sound asleep beside her. In that time interval Troy had left a message on his parents' phones - yes both of them - to tell them that the twins were coming and he would call them again (or leave a message again) after they arrived. But for now it was just Troy and his kids waiting on Gabriella. And Troy wasn't about to leave his little ones out in the waiting room alone. He was too nervous to even call anyone else. And he got word from one of the doctors with Gabriella about fifteen minutes ago that she was preparing to go into labor. Troy just hoped it wouldn't be too long.

"Yo, Hoops!" Chad called as he ran into the waiting room with his family by his side. "We're here!"

Troy sighed with relief. Finally, some more encouragement. And company. And people to listen to him as he freaked out. Hey, even though Troy had gone through all this twice already it still hadn't been with twins. In his opinion it was a good reason to be freaking out.

"What took you guys so long?" he gasped.

"One thing at a time." Taylor said, holding up a hand. "First thing's first, how is Gabriella?"

"I think she started labor fifteen minutes ago or something." he told his wife's best friend. "Now what took you to get here so long? Where were you for almost an hour?"

"Traffic." Taylor replied stoically.

Troy sighed heavily and hit his head.

Chad turned to Dylan, who was holding his baby sister. "Dill, go sit down with Gina and Timothy, ok?"

Dylan nodded and went into one of the empty seats.

"How long have you been out here?" Chad asked Troy.

"An hour, how else long would it have been?" Troy shouted.

"Troy, take deep breaths." Taylor ordered. "It's not going to do you or Gabriella any good if you're sitting out here freaking out like a three-year-old."

"Three-year-old." Chad chuckled, picturing Troy freaking out way worse.

Taylor rolled her eyes and turned to Chad. "Like you were any better. You were going so mad, Gabriella thought you were going to hyperventilate and then collapse onto the floor at the first sight of the baby." she informed him.

Chad looked like he was going to slump over at the memory. So he hadn't been much better than Troy was right now.

"So what else am I supposed to do?" Troy interrupted.

"Deep breaths." Taylor repeated. "Breath in, then out."

Troy reluctantly obeyed. "Ok, now what?" he asked after two breaths.

"Now calm down, remind yourself that Gabriella and the twins are ok, and tell us who else you called." Taylor replied.

"Wait, what does that have to do with...?" Troy started, but he stopped when he saw Taylor glare at him and fold her arms. Man, how many people could she bring down with just one stare like that? "I left my parents a message about what was going on. That was it." he answered with a sigh.

"I'll call Ryan and let him know. He should still be in town." Chad said as he took out his cell phone.

"And what am I supposed to do now?" Troy asked.

"Go in and check on Gabriella. We'll keep an eye on your kids." Taylor told him. "And give us an update in no more than fifteen minutes how she's doing."

Troy sighed and ran into the room.

Dylan just shook his head as he watched the whole thing, gently bouncing a slightly awake Cheryl in his arms. "You sounded so much more awake and confident than you did two weeks ago." he observed to his mother.

Taylor just turned to him and shrugged. "Sometimes it has to be done. And at least now we have a good reason to be wide awake and strong."

"Too bad we can't say the same thing for Troy." Dill joked.

---

Fifteen minutes later Troy came rushing back out. "She's still in labor..." he said in between breaths. "Man those babies are stubborn!"

"Dude, it didn't take Gabriella a little over an hour with Gina or Tim." Chad chuckled.

"She was in labor with Gina precisely four hours and thee minutes and with Timothy for only an hour and twenty-six minutes." Taylor calculated, remembering the wait perfectly.

"Not helping." Troy complained. "Did you call anyone?"

"I got a hold of Ryan and Kelsi but they're already outta town. They left yesterday." Chad said. "But wait until you hear how great things are goin with them. See, Kelsi's manager or boss or whatever he's called wanted to know if she and Ryan could-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, tell me about it later." Troy interrupted quickly. "What about Zeke?"

"Tried him, but he didn't give me the chance to say anything. He said not to disturb him." Chad answered.

"What, he and Sharpay busy making a baby of their own?" Troy asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, like Sharpay would really wanna carry a baby around in her belly." Chad laughed. "She thinks she'd look like the Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons if she did."

"When did she say that?" Dylan asked curiously.

"She didn't." Troy knew right away. "What about Stella?"

"Oh shoot!" Chad gasped, pulling out his cell phone to call her. At least one other family member had to be there for Troy and Gabriella besides their kids, especially since their parents couldn't. But hey, who would have thought the time would come when they weren't nearby? Chad quickly dialed the number, needing to remember it after the first two times they went through this.

After about three rings, he heard Stella pick up. "Hola." she greeted.

"Stel, get to the hospital now!" Chad said right away.

"Is my cousin in there?" she asked quickly.

"No, Madonna had to be rushed here and we're all taking pictures of a large gash in her head." Chad said sarcastically. "Of course Gabriella's in here! She's in labor."

"Ok, I'll be there in a half hour tops." Stella promised.

Troy's eyes widened as he faintly heard her from the phone. "What does she mean a half hour?" he gasped.

"You forgot to apply time for traffic and parking." Dylan stated simply.

"Thanks a lot, Captain Obvious." Troy muttered.

Chad rolled his eyes as he finished up with Stella and hung up. "Just chill out man, would ya?" he asked. "Looks just go back into there to Gabriella, alright? Come back out in another fifteen minutes."

"Let me know if you hear from anyone else!" Troy called as he ran back into the room.

---

Troy was back in the waiting room a couple of hours later pacing around back and forth. Gina and Timothy were both asleep now. Dylan only woke up once to go to the bathroom and now he was just shifting in his sea to try and get comfortable. Taylor had taken Cheryl from him a while ago and was now resting her head on Chad's shoulder. Chad's head would shift up every time Troy would rush back in, which was every fifteen minutes until Stella shooed him out so she could take over. She really was not the same naive girl they remembered her being when she was in high school. Ok so maybe she was still a bit naive, but she was a bit more assertive than she used to be.

"Can I go in yet?" Troy asked Stella as soon as she came out for an update.

Stella sighed and pushed some hair out of her face. "She's still in labor, Troy. You have to wait a little longer. I just came out to give you guys an update."

"Some update." Troy muttered, slumping in his seat.

"Troy don't be so moody." Stella shook her head. "Imagine how Gabriella is right now actually going through it. Think about that." she turned around and walked back into the room.

Chad let out a small whistle. "Harsh, man."

"Not helping." Troy muttered again. "Can I have a time check?"

Chad glanced at his watch, "Four-o-five a.m."

Troy moaned and rubbed his forehead. "How much longer?"

"Troy it takes time." Taylor yawned. "Just relax and keep telling yourself that when this is all over you'll have two beautiful babies."

"Yeah but-" Troy started. He was interrupted when Stella ran back out.

"Troy get in here!" she gasped. "The first one's coming!"

The three adults gasped and rose to their feet. "What?" they gasped simultaneously.

"First. Baby. Coming. Now." Stella repeated, emphasizing each word.

Troy's mouth dropped open and he nearly keeled over. Chad caught this and got Troy back to his feet. "Dude what are you doing still standing out here? Get in there!" he urged.

"Right, right." Troy nodded quickly. He ran back into the room.

Stella bit her tongue as she watched Troy run in. "Hopefully it won't be too much longer now." she said quietly.

But it was easier said than done. There was more waiting and it wasn't going any quicker. The time was checked constantly, pacing around the room became constant, the kids would be begging for their parents the second they woke up. No one was even looking at the time when Troy came rushing back out.

"What's going on?" Stella asked right away. "How are they?"

"Stel, I need some backup. Tay, you too." Troy said right away. "Gabs needs more encouragement. The first one's almost out but the second one's too close behind it."

"What?" Taylor blinked.

"I don't know, I kinda lost focus after they said to get more backup. Can you two just get back there?" Troy replied.

"Stand by for extra backup." Stella told him as she ran in.

Taylor handed Cheryl over to Chad and followed Stella in.

Troy started pacing around again and Chad tried to follow him to calm him down. "Dude, relax." he said. "They're gonna make it out."

"Yeah well you don't see the hectic stuff going on in there." Troy replied. "It wasn't this crazy with Gina or Timothy."

"And you think I wasn't freaking out when Taylor went through this?" Chad asked doubtfully. "I was scared outta my mind."

"Which explains why you were acting like a two-year-old at the time." Troy rolled his eyes.

"Not the point." Chad said. He grabbed Troy's shoulder to get him to hold still. "Look I know what it's like to freak out about both sides. I was going back and forth between waiting and watching and the entire time I was hoping that they'd both make it out ok. I didn't wanna lose Cheryl and I certainly didn't wanna lose Tay. And look what happened. One healthy baby and now...well, a really tired mother...but they both made it out in one piece and ended up just fine. So what makes you think that Gabriella can't make it through that way, too?"

"Because this is twins we're talking about!" Troy yelled.

"Ok dude, just relax!" Chad insisted. "Everything's gonna turn out fine. Just keep thinking positive."

Gina slowly walked over to Troy. She tugged on his pants leg. "When are they coming out?" she asked sleepily.

Troy looked down at her, "Just a little longer. Promise."

---

"It's a girl!" Taylor exclaimed as she ran back into the room.

Troy jumped up right away. "The first one came?" he gasped.

"The second one is on its way." Taylor replied.

"Did they have to do a C-section?" Troy asked worriedly.

Taylor tilted her head and she poked Troy in the chest seriously. "You can have an incredibly stubborn woman sometimes, Troy Bolton."

Chad chuckled. "Someone's getting scolded."

Taylor shifted her body and folded her arms. "And you can really know how to open your big fat mouth." she told Chad.

Moments later Stella ran out of the room. "Troy you have a beautiful set of twins!" she grinned widely.

Troy spun to her. "And what do we have?"

"A girl." Stella smiled. "My new cousins are girls!"

Troy's smile grew bigger. He stood in that position being completely caught off guard. "I gotta go see them. And Gabriella!" He ran into the delivery room to see his girls.

Stella blinked as she saw him rush in. "Didn't expect that reaction." she shrugged as she walked over to Timothy to wake him up and tell him.

Chad and Taylor raised an eyebrow as they exchanged glances. "Well he seemed happy." he observed.

"Yeah. That's an understatement." Taylor nodded as she took Cheryl from Chad.

"When do we get to see the babies?" Gina asked.

"Hopefully as soon as Troy realizes he ditched us." Chad muttered, which offered him a slap on the arm.

---

By six a.m. everyone was in the room eying Gabriella holding the new babies. They had already left a message for Troy's parents and called Kelsi and Ryan again. The couple were overjoyed and insisted on seeing pictures of the kids as soon as possible and of course promised to try and visit again the next chance they got.

"They really are something, Gabs." Troy smiled, admiring the two new additions to the family.

Gabriella smiled and looked down at Gina and Timothy. "What do you two think?"

"They're so cute!" Gina cooed. "Can I hold one?"

"How about tomorrow, when you're more awake?" Gabriella suggested.

Gina nodded and looked at her brother. "Names?" he asked.

"Yeah dude, share the names." Chad said. "You can't not name your own kids."

"Yeah, you made a whole list of names, didn't you?" Stella asked. "Did you make any decisions?"

"Well we did talk a little." Troy admitted. "We wanted to name at least one of them after Jason."

"That's so beautiful." Chad said in a sappy voice.

Taylor rolled her eyes and smacked him playfully in the chest. "I think that would make Jason very happy." she said loyally.

"Now stop keeping us in suspense and tell us the names." Stella said eagerly. "What are you gonna call them? Can we help think of names if you don't have any, even a middle name?"

"Whoa whoa whoa, one thing at a time." Troy chuckled. "Gabriella and I had a lot of talks about names. And we decided to name the other one after Gabriella's father." He held up one of the babies, who was just slightly smaller than the first. "This is the younger one. We decided on Corrie. Corrie Abigail Bolton."

"You do know that spells c-a-b, right?" Chad asked, raising an eyebrow.

Stella raised an eyebrow at him and Dylan and Taylor both hit their foreheads simultaneously.

Gabriella shook her head, moving onto the first born. "And the older one is Justina Lauren Bolton." she said. She looked down at her first two children. "And they're your new sisters.

"I love them." Gina exclaimed.

Chad turned to Troy. "So what do you think, dude? Were they worth the wait?"

Troy smiled and glanced down at Gabriella. The pair exchanged smiles and Gabriella nodded. "Yeah." she nodded. "Yeah they were."

* * *

Well that took almost all day to write. I was watching TV as I typed pretty much all of it. I was totally winging it, trying to figure out if Troy and Gabriella should have two boys, two girls, or a girl and a boy. I randomly decided. So, it was mainly a T&G chapter I guess, but hey I said that all chapters would have C&T somewhere...even if it is just Taylor hitting Chad for having a big fat mouth. xD What? I thought it'd be funny. Well, that or Troy freaking out. o_0 So, I'm not sure if I'll have a chance to update anything else today but I'll see before I leave for work in...about two hours. So I will leave it at this for now and leave you guys to any other reading you wanna do. ^^


	4. Family Day?

You know what? I had an idea for another chapter and I'm not about to go to work and be a busy zoo on a Saturday night only to forget everything. So even if I can't finish it before then, I can at least start it. So I will keep this author's note short and let you guys get right to the reading. At this rate though, I might stop putting genres at the end of the chapter summaries. They'll all be family one way or another, I bet. -_-  
Disclaimer: You know what I mentioned would be different about HSM if I did own it, right?_  
Chapter Four Summary: You know how much can change in a year. But how much can stay the same? Taylor still has a lot of work to catch up on but will it cost her her job? And now that Cheryl's not so much a baby anymore what will she do first, walk or talk? (Genre: Family)  
_

* * *

**Chapter Four: Family Day?  
**

"Workin hard or hardly workin?" Chad joked as he stepped into the bedroom on a sunny Saturday morning.

Taylor picked her head up. Her eyes had been glued to the laptop since she woke up and, aside from switching her position on the bed once in a while, she hadn't moved. Not even to get breakfast.

"What do you think?" she asked sarcastically. "Come on, you know how long I've been behind. I was lucky to even go into the office for two weeks."

"Oh you went in longer than that and you know it." Chad teased with a smile as he sat down beside her. "What about last month? You were in every day except for when you had that stomach virus."

"You were the one who thought it was another pregnancy." Taylor pointed out.

"Ok, ok, I can take a hint." Chad sighed. "Look, all I'm saying is that for the past couple of months you were working like crazy. You need a break."

"No, what I need is to get all of these extra articles in before the deadline and not get fired." she corrected. "Look, they gave me a break when I said I couldn't go in for at least a month, but by the second month they started suggesting that I work from home. And if I hadn't put up the argument that I did they would have suggested a 'temporary leave'."

"Yeah well, you're still there." Chad said, putting an arm around her. "Just don't work your butt off, ok?"

Taylor sighed. She shook her head before looking away at the laptop and turned to him, her hands now completely away from the keypad. "I know. But the majority of the articles I have managed to get in for the past year were less than exceptional. And I have to turn that around. And what good what it do us if one of us is out of the job, especially when one of them is me?"

"I can put in more hours at the daycare center." Chad assured.

"You work enough as it is." she shook her head. "Besides sometimes I think you care more about those children than your own."

"Hey I was just saying-" Chad gasped.

"I was kidding." Taylor informed him.

Chad sighed with relief. "Don't ever say that about me, ok?"

Taylor nodded. "Sorry."

"Me, too." Chad replied.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at him. What did he need to apologize for?

Able to read her expression, Chad clarified. "Look we haven't had much time to ourselves lately. It's been crazy and you're starting to get buried in your work. I don't want you to become a workaholic, Tay. You spend enough time with that as it is, even after spending all this time staying home and looking after Cheryl. But you're still on the job, aren't you? Ok, so there's been a few snags this year and maybe a few threats to let you go. But has that stopped you from putting in your best effort? You've been juggling being a mom and working, not to mention keeping the house in order..."

"And you've been the family comedian only doing chores once a month." Taylor interrupted.

"Ok, so maybe that's kinda true and I'm sorry." Chad apologized. "But you can't worry about work forever. You're not losing the job, Tay. Not by a long shot. And if you do, then it's their loss. You'll find something better in a heartbeat."

Taylor nodded. "It's just that this is the best gig I've had in a long time. Oxford was one thing, but things are different now." she explained. "I'm running an OP-ED page column on the political stature, structure, etc on the United States, not to mention being at least somewhere on the editors list to look over everything...I mean, I know I'm not the chief editor or anything, but it's still good payment and it's still a respectful position compared to some newsboy."

"And you're still doing a great job." Chad assured her. "But you can't just work forever."

She cocked her head. "So what do you suggest?"

A smile came across Chad's face. "A family day."

Taylor couldn't help but sigh and roll her eyes. "Chad those days really don't do much..."

"Of course they do. I had em with my family all the time when my folks were still around. Look at where it got me." he shrugged. Then he saw Taylor's doubtful look and caved. "Ok, so it didn't do much for me and my sister but it got me closer to my mom and her to my dad. We did some goofy stuff, but it was always in the privacy of our own home. And if they ever said anything in public, we'd make a run for it and deal with the consequences when we got home."

Taylor couldn't help but giggle at the thought.

Chad smiled at her laughter. "So what do you say? For one day?"

Taylor had to admit, the offer did sound tempting. And aside from dinner, when was the whole family really together most of the time? "I don't know." she admitted with a sigh. "I mean, I have to finish this page by Tuesday so it can be in the paper by Wednesday..."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Why do people wanna read about political stuff on Wednesday instead of Monday?"

"Chad, that's not the point." she shook her head. "Better than them reading it on Monday as they're ready to fall asleep on their way back to work after a weekend." she muttered the answer. Taylor took notice of Chad's nod as an understanding and continued. "So tell me how I can possibly finish writing this in two days if not by today, when I have a few other columns to edit and possibly proofread?"

"Because you're my wife. You can do anything." Chad said calmly. "Except get me into a pink outfit or tux." he added jokingly.

Taylor rolled her eyes and hit him on the arm, a usual reaction when he opened his mouth and said something stupid.

Chad chuckled at her reaction and the continued. "So, if there's anything political in the news today then record it or look it up on youtube tomorrow. Take notes and then write your article. Then on Monday you can look over everything else you need to and have everything in by the exact deadline time on Tuesday. What do you say?"

Taylor thought about it for a minute. She kept quiet as she weighed the options in her mind and tried figuring out what to do. Finally, she turned her head back to Chad. "I'm in." she smiled.

Chad couldn't keep the smile off his face, but he still wanted to tease her. "I can't hear you."

"I said I'm in." she giggled.

"I still can't hear you." Chad laughed as he practically threw himself on top of her and moved the laptop out of the way. This is why they worked so well together. Chad was the funny laid back parent and Taylor was the serious verge-on-workaholic one. And then they would pull out those exact qualities from each other; Chad would be a little more serious at times and Taylor wouldn't worry about work so much. The pair smiled at each other as Chad's arms went around Taylor and her hands dug into his hair. They shared a simple kiss and then pulled apart.

"Ok, now go get some breakfast. I'll get everything set up." Chad smiled.

"Good." Taylor replied with a smile of her own. "I was getting hungry anyway." She got up off the bed and made her way downstairs.

The smile grew on Chad's face as he then rushed to the closet to pull out everything he needed. He had been planning this for a long time.

---

Dylan sat in the living room shortly after eating lunch, staring right at his sister. No, it wasn't at how she changed, how she had gotten a little taller or had grown more hair with a slight wave to it, or how it was so hard to believe she was over a year old already. Instead it was just a simple staring contest. Neither had blinked or anything and Dylan was not about to give in.

"You've gotta blink sometime." he told her.

But Cheryl hadn't learned to talk or walk yet and therefore couldn't give a response. All she really said were still just baby words, not actual words.

Still with neither blinking or anything of the sort, Dylan's look stiffened. He was keeping a close eye on her. And it almost looked like he was getting somewhere until....

"How are you doing down here?" Taylor interrupted as she gently rubbed Dylan's head, causing him to blink.

Dylan sighed as she sat down beside him. "You just made me lose the staring contest." he moaned. "I had Cherry on the run."

"I'm sorry." Taylor apologized. "Has she said anything?"

"Aside from words like goo, bla, or wah?" Dylan replied. "Nope."

Taylor sighed. She looked over at Cheryl on the other side of the couch. "Well you're going to have to talk sometime." she said.

Cheryl didn't say or do anything in response. Instead all she did was hold her arms out, signaling that she wanted to be held.

Taylor rolled her eyes and smiled. She walked over to that side of the couch and picked Cheryl up, than sat back down and put the toddler on her lap.

"Hey how was work going up there?" Dylan wondered.

"It's not." Taylor sighed. "Your father convinced me to take the day off for some kind of family fun day."

Dylan blinked. "You serious?"

"Yeah, he said he practically grew up on them." Taylor replied.

"So what did you grow up on?" Dylan wondered.

"A lot of books and two very different siblings." she sighed. "Family fun was not in my parents' vocabulary."

"But it's gonna be in ours." Chad smiled as he came downstairs with a big box. "I have everything together. We are gonna spend the entire Saturday together. So what do you think we do this every Saturday?"

"No!" Taylor and Dylan gasped in unison.

Chad blinked. "How about once a month?"

"We'll talk." Taylor held up a hand.

"So what's this about family fun?" Dylan wondered.

"We are gonna spend all day doing stuff together." Chad explained. "Movies, games, eating..."

"And everything had better be suitable for all ages. We have a child who's less than three, you know." she pointed out.

"Yeah, and can we not do anything too kiddy-ish?" Dylan added. He loved his family but he was still fourteen and didn't want to do anything embarrassing.

"Consider it noted." Chad nodded. "So I thought we would start things off with a movie. We can each pick one every time." He reached into the box to search for a suitable DVD.

"Disney." Taylor said right away. It was one of the few companies she trusted to make movies suitable for children.

"Ok...Disney it is then." Chad said slowly.

"How about a comedy?" Dylan asked.

"I was thinking more like action." Chad said.

"No, it should be romance-oriented." Taylor replied.

"Everything about Disney has something romanced-based in it." Chad sighed.

"And it's to a low enough level for any ages to view. It doesn't take anything past kissing." Taylor defended.

"What comes after kissing?" Dylan wondered.

Taylor and Chad exchanged glances right away. Chad cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head and Taylor continuously shifted her sitting position. "Um...when you're older son." Chad said in a manly voice, or an attempted manly voice. "You'll learn then."

"Yeah..." Taylor agreed. "You're too young to know about things that go further than that."

Dylan just blinked and raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

"Good, let's keep it that way." Chad said right away.

"So about that movie..." Taylor said, trying to change the subject.

---

"Ok why did we choose that movie? It wasn't exactly...fun." Dylan admitted two and a half hours later.

Chad raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You didn't think it was funny?"

"I have to agree with Dylan, hun." Taylor said. "Let me direct your attention to the sleeping child on my lap."

Chad looked down to see Cheryl sound asleep. Had it really been that boring that it put a toddler to sleep?

"I can't believe it...if we watched a boring movie we'd always joke about how bad it was and how much we hated it." Chad said, moving some hair out of his face. "It really wasn't worthy of that?"

Dylan and Taylor exchanged glances. It was still early in the day, too early to give up hope yet. And Chad was really looking forward to it. The least they could do was keep trying.

"It's not the end of the world, Dad." Dylan shrugged. "There's still plenty of things left to do. Maybe we could move onto one of those games?"

"But not one with those tiny pieces that Cheryl could put in her mouth." Taylor pointed out.

"Then I've got the perfect game," a smile came on Chad's face. "Charades!"

"Chad you can't be..." Taylor started.

"Oh c'mon, everyone loves charades!" he encouraged.

"Everyone except people who stink at it." Dylan muttered.

"Excuse me?" Chad questioned.

"Well it's just that the last time we played charades you couldn't get anything right. And every time you had your turn everyone kept guessing something like 'kleptomaniac cowboy'."

Taylor couldn't help but giggle as she pictured the image. She covered her mouth to try and keep it unnoticed.

"It's not funny." Chad pointed at Taylor, hearing her. He turned back to Dill, "And I was really trying that whole time."

"Trying and failing." Dylan sang. "Mom and I would charade circles around you."

"That made no sense." Chad shook his head.

"Oh so we have a bet then?" Dylan inquired.

"Yeah we have a bet." Chad agreed right away.

Taylor took that as her cue. "Then prepare to have your butt whooped by the smartest minds in the household." she said simply.

---

That had been an understatement. Chad couldn't get a single thing right. Even when Cheryl clapped her hands to do something he didn't know what she was doing. It turned out the manner in which she was crawling was similar to the way in which a gorilla would move. Dylan and Taylor were close enough guessing monkey and Chad had guessed a swiss army man or something.

"Ok, next activity." Chad declared. "Video games."

"Right, because you desperately want to get over that crushing defeat from charades." Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Yeah Dad, face it." Dylan agreed. "You didn't exactly stand a chance."

"Hey that is not fair!" Chad gasped. He pointed at Taylor and then at Dylan, "You were salutatorian of our class and your grade point average is like a 4 point seven!"

"The highest a GPA can go is a four, Chad." Taylor informed him. "And Dylan's happens to be a three point seven."

"And there you go again, being all brilliant and acting like I'm the dumbest man on the planet." Chad started.

"You know I never said or thought that." Taylor retorted.

"Well you're sure not acting that way now." Chad said.

"You're the one who started making a big deal over charades!" Taylor argued.

"Yeah well you could've let me win at least one round, but no." he said sarcastically.

"You know what, I'm done." Taylor decided. She placed Cheryl down and stood up from the couch. "I'm going back to my work. Something I should have been doing all day." She shook her head, "So much for family fun." She then turned and went back upstairs.

Chad just shook his head. "I'm going out." he decided as he got up from the couch and went out the front door.

Dylan looked back and forth between his parents and the direction they went in. He looked over at Cheryl, who had a depressed yet confused look on her face. Dylan just shook his head. "I can't believe they just fought over something so stupid." he said. "We have to do something Cherry."

All she did was cock her head and started sucking on her thumb.

"No, take that out of your mouth." he sighed, trying to pull her finger out. "It can't go in there forever."

---

A couple of hours later, Chad sighed as he walked back into the house a couple of hours later. He sighed as he pushed some hair out of his face. This was not how he wanted the day to go. He wanted to spend time with everyone but it had all gone down the drain. And a couple of hours being out around town on his own was not his idea of fun.

His head turned sharply as he heard footsteps. He stopped when he saw Taylor come down. He looked down and then back at her, as she imitated his actions. Neither said a word; they remained silent. Chad rubbed the back of his head, almost not sure for a minute if they were still arguing.

"So how was your walk?" Taylor finally asked, somewhat quietly.

"Long. Quiet. Boring." Chad answered in fragments. "How's your article?"

"It's not." she shook her head.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I got an e-mail from one of the editors. We had a little meeting via e-mail and I might have...snapped a little." Taylor admitted. "He told me to take a temporary leave so I can get my act together. And I told him he wouldn't need to worry about it because I quit."

"I'm sorry, Tay." he apologized.

"Don't be." she shook her head.

"Yeah but if I didn't even suggest we take this stupid day..." he started.

Taylor held a hand up. "Hold on, when did we say it was stupid?"

"Didn't you?" Chad asked, confused.

"I implied it." she answered simply. "I never really meant it. It was a good idea, Chad. It just didn't turn out the way we planned."

"So you really wanted to do it?" Chad asked.

"We had a reason to, didn't we?" she replied. "Besides, it was kind of nice while it lasted. Until we started arguing."

"Yeah, I shouldn't have just went off like that." Chad admitted.

"And I shouldn't have countered your argument with one of my own." Taylor nodded. "Especially not in front of the kids."

"Hey, how are they anyway?" he wondered.

"I don't know." Taylor shook her head. "I was in the bedroom the whole time."

"So you didn't tell them about the job?"

"I don't want to worry them."

"You're gonna have to tell them."

"So what do I tell them? That I'm going to be a stay-at-home mom or something? It's not happening."

"Of course not. You can't stay in a house for that long. So what are you going to do?"

"What any other woman would do. Spend about an hour drowning my sorrows in ice cream and then search for a new job first thing in the morning."

Chad chuckled and Taylor smiled. "Can I join you with the ice cream?" he asked.

"I'd like that." Taylor nodded.

They pointed at each other and decided the flavor in unison, "Chocolate chip cookie dough and cookies and cream." They then laughed at how they knew each other so well.

"I'll go check on the kids." Taylor offered.

"And I'll get one large bowl and ten large scoops of ice cream." Chad smiled.

As Taylor went upstairs, Chad walked over to the freezer to pull out the two tubs of ice cream. He grabbed a scooper and a large bowl and then took the two different flavors and put them into the bowl, one flavor on top of the other. Once that was done, he put the ice cream away and then took out two spoons. He almost started digging in until he saw Taylor come back down.

"How are they?" he wondered.

"Dylan is playing with Cheryl upstairs in his room." she answered. "They looked like they were enjoying themselves."

"Well then that means more ice cream for us." Chad shrugged. He sat up on one of the stools and started eating some of the ice cream. Taylor sat down beside him and began eating much smaller scoops. "So what are you gonna do about the job thing?" he finally asked.

"Well I did take notice of some of the wanted ads before," she admitted. "I'm sure I can find something in one of those places. I can start looking tomorrow."

"Maybe not first thing tomorrow..." Chad said hopefully as he just made dents in part of the ice cream with his spoon.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

"Well, Dill is off to one of his friends' houses tomorrow to work on a project and Troy's parents happen to be watching Timmy and Gina tomorrow while Troy and Gabriella take the twins out so I managed to get them to watch Cheryl..."

"And..." Taylor waited for him to drop the bomb.

"...And that could give us some alone time here." Chad finished with a tempting tone. "We can 'pick up where we left off'."

"Chad Danforth, can you get any more naughty?" Taylor scolded playfully.

"Is that a yes?" Chad wondered.

"Well...maybe we can work something out. Say after lunch?" she suggested.

"Noon." Chad corrected. "You can drop the kids off and I can set up here...."

"Just as long as you don't get any stains on the carpets." Taylor agreed.

Chad cheered. "Ok now I'm gonna celebrate by eating the biggest scoop of ice cream I can!" As he dug in, Taylor just giggled and rolled her eyes. Chad was just being his usual silly self. But her giggles turned into pure laughter when he picked his head up. His lips were completely covered in ice cream. "What? Am I that bad?" Chad asked, unable to see for himself.

"Better than your whole face, I can tell you that much." Taylor smiled as she gently wiped some away with her thumb.

Chad smiled back at Taylor and then they both filled the now small gap in between them with a soft kiss. They were just about to really get into it until....

"Mom, Dad! You gotta come see this!" Dylan called form upstairs.

Chad and Taylor sighed as they pulled apart. They just shook their heads and headed to the staircase hand in hand. But it didn't last long because the next thing they saw was Cheryl falling down the stairs. Chad sprung into action and caught her before she hit the last few steps.

"What the...?" he asked.

That's when Dylan came rushing downstairs. "You guys missed it! She was walking!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, like we'd really miss her first steps." Chad said sarcastically.

"You did." Dylan insisted.

"Chad, put her down. We'll see for ourselves." Taylor said after checking Cheryl over to make sure there were no bruises or injuries.

"Alright but I'm telling you," Chad sighed as he put her down, "there's no way she's gonna walk."

"Then what's she doing now?" Dylan asked as he pointed to Cheryl.

Chad and Taylor looked down at the toddler and watched as she began walking - in an almost stumbling manner - around the living room. "No way.." Taylor realized.

"I don't believe it!" Chad gasped. "She's walking!" He raised an eyebrow as the little girl headed to the front door. "Hey wait a minute, where's she walking to?"

Dylan decided to use this as his opportunity. "She's telling you that she wants to go out to dinner."

"Yeah, sure she is." Chad said sarcastically as he went to pick up his daughter.

"Actually, going out to dinner sounds nice." Taylor said. "I could go for being waited on tonight."

"On second thought, dinner sounds great." Chad said right away.

Dylan blinked and looked at Taylor. "How did you...?"

"I've got my ways." Taylor winked with a smile. "You take Cheryl and go wait outside. We'll be right out."

"Ok." Dylan nodded. He took his sister from his father and headed outside to wait at the car.

Chad smiled as he walked over to Taylor. "We do need to celebrate the occasion don't we?" he asked. "We can watch her walk to the table all by herself."

"And it's only a matter of time before she starts talking. Wait for it, her first word's going to be 'mother'." Taylor grinned.

"You keep telling yourself that." Chad teased. "She's gonna say 'daddy' first and you know it."

"Maybe in your dreams." Taylor replied. She picked up the wallet from the coffee table and handed it to Chad. "Dinner's on you tonight, family man." she teased right back. She winked and then walked out with the car keys.

Chad blinked as she walked out. Then he smiled and nodded to himself. "I think family fun day's back on." he grinned. And with that, he put the remainder of the ice cream in the freezer for later and then went out to the car. They might as well enjoy the Saturday while they still could, because it was only going to get busier from there.

* * *

Ok so I started this last night and after I got home today I finished it up. Not my best chapter in my opinion, but I was trying to fight a slight writer's block as I typed it all up. Som I was out shopping with my mom, aunt, and cousin today and it's our little tradition for the third year going since mine and my cousin's birthday both happen to be in February. The only time I'm not bored when I'm clothes shopping. ^^ And we're supposed to get a lot of snow tonight so I am really hoping that means a snow day for tomorrow. Cause I do not wanna clean off the car and then drive to school even if there's a delayed opening. -_- So I'm going to get off for now and then I'll see what I update next and when.


	5. Teaching Mr Dylan

Well, it is Sunday night still and I am happy to report that I do not have school tomorrow. ^^ Which means I don't have to procrastinate on my writing homework till Tuesday night. I'm so happy, my first snow day in like, over four years. I'm gonna have a movie day and stuff my face with junk food. And lemme tell you, when you have a fast metabolism, aren't a huge eater, and come from a family with short skinny women on one side you really wanna try and gain more weight. And after living off of chocolate and everything I'm still waiting for it to kick in. XD What? I can joke about myself, can't I? Don't you guys do it to yourselves, too? Or would you rather have me joke about one of the characters? Cause if you want me to, I can crack a joke in the a/n next chapter or something. So anyway, I think I will take out the genres at the end of each chapter summary now cause I'm bound to only put family for at least half of them. But if you want me to, I can put the featured couple in instead._  
Chapter Five Summary: As a sixteen year old, Dylan has finally gotten his permit and is determined to get his license. So who will be the parent to teach him and will he pass it on his first try?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Five: Teaching Mr. Dylan  
**

"Final grade for my driver's ed class, solid eighty-nine." Dylan smiled to himself as he flashed the paper to one of his friends.

The African American boy beside him, of a much darker skin tone, took the paper and looked at it wide-eyed. "Dude," he gasped in a deeper voice, "do you know what this means? Easy acing on your real test!"

"One step at a time, Coop." Dylan sighed as he took the paper back. "You have no idea how long my parents have gone at it figuring out who would teach me."

"Dude, problem solved." Cooper shrugged. "The driving instructor already taught you. You're practically in."

"Yeah, and you know how long it took me to bring up my grade on the driving portion of the class after only being able to practice in there. I'm lucky I even got my permit like two weeks into the class." Dylan replied.

"Yeah, but you were a natural as soon as you got the hang of everythin." he shrugged. "Better than me anyway. I only passed with a seventy-two. Hey, can I borrow your brains for that math test on Friday?"

Dylan smiled slightly and shook his head at his friend. "Ask my mom, she's the one with the real brains."

"Great, then can I ask your dad for some of his jokes so I can impress the ladies?" he asked as smoothly as he could, especially with a couple of older women walking past them.

"Ok you know what, I'm getting away from you." Dylan decided. He adjusted the strap of his backpack on his shoulder and started walking away, but then turned back around and pointed at Cooper. "And for the record, those girls were way out of your league." He turned back around and headed home. Hey, at least the driver's ed course was the only class he had to worry about that day, especially with it being summer break. The only reason Dill ever took his backpack with him was to carry around his notebook, textbook, extra writing utensils, a sketchpad, and of course his cell phone for emergencies.

He stepped up to the front door of his house, taking note of the two cars in the driveway. He knew both of his parents were home that day. His dad had taken a personal day from work and this was one of the days his mom was off. It was a decent balance as far as Dylan was considered; a daycare worker and a secretary. And he knew that come next summer he'd be on the job hunt as well. Smiling to himself as he imagined the look on their faces, Dylan stepped inside as his mom was carrying in a bottle of water from the kitchen into the living room. He smiled and playfully waved the sheet of paper in front of her.

Taylor raised an eyebrow as she slowly took the paper from him. "Good day at the class today?" she assumed.

"See the paper for yourself." Dill grinned. "Just took the last class today which included last minutes pieces of advice, a little booklet for starting drivers, and grades."

"Well I know I don't need to sit down for this." she shrugged confidently as she put the water bottle down on the counter. Her brown eyes scanned over each piece of information on the sheet, little by little, before getting to the final grade. "Active participation, concise grades, cautious driver, decently executed steps on the two practice driving courses..." she started, reading the minor teacher's notes, "...midterm grade, eighty-two, final grade ninety, and final grade for the class overall, eighty-nine!" She couldn't help but let out a squeal of excitement. Taylor quickly covered her mouth, knowing that revealed a too-girlie side to her. "That squeal never leaves this room."

"The squeal never happened." Dylan chuckled, barely having to look up at her considering he wasn't even half a foot shorter than her. "what do you think?"

"I think that after a couple more months of practicing there is no way you are going to fail that road test." Taylor smiled, giving him a hug. "And you were so nervous about the tests before."

"I just wanted to pass the class. How was I gonna pass with bad grades on the tests?" Dylan smiled as he hugged her back. "Hey where's Dad? He's gotta see this."

Taylor smiled as she pulled away, "He's in the back trying to teach your sister how to dribble a basketball right. I don't even know why he bothers, her hands are less than half the size of his."

"C'mon, let's go show them!" Dylan said eagerly, ready to rush out into the backyard.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes as she followed him out. They went through the dining room and went out the back door. The backyard had been redesigned a bit in the last few years; instead of it being completely covered in grass there was a minor basketball court cemented in, and off to the opposite end close to the fence was a child's swing set. And of course right there on the basketball court was Chad trying to teach three-year-old Cheryl how to now shoot the basketball into the net.

"No come on Cherry, hold your hands like this." Chad instructed as he assisted the little girl through. Cheryl looked at him confused, but Chad only told her to keep her eyes on the ball and net. "Now just try to aim it just right and bend your knees as you get ready to make that big shot...

And he seemed to be in so much focus until Taylor interrupted him. "Hey Chad, come over here!" she called.

That was just when Chad was helping Cheryl shoot the ball towards the net. He lost his concentration and Cheryl ducked down, using the little common sense she developed at that point, as the ball smacked Chad on the head and nearly caused him to fall over. Cheryl covered her mouth, "Oopsie."

Dylan chuckled as he watched and Taylor couldn't help but laugh. "Aw, are you ok?" she asked in a playful tone as she walked over to check on her husband.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Chad sighed. "But I think the ball kind of had it in for me after you locked it away last week."

Taylor poked him in the chest, "Only to prevent you from breaking something in the house."

"Cheryl was the one who wanted to play with it first." Chad said defensively, pointing to the little girl.

"But Daddy, you played wit it fiwst." Cheryl said innocently. "Member? You was spinnin it on your fingew?"

Chad rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and Dylan chuckled. "Somebody's in trouble." he sang.

"And somebody's gonna be skipping dinner if they do that again." Chad replied sarcastically. "So what's so big that you had to interrupt our imaginary game?"

"See for yourself." Taylor replied simply, putting Dylan's grades right in his face.

Chad nearly stepped back in shock as he felt like the paper tackled him. Then he grasped it and skimmed everything through. "Whoa, somebody's gonna have their license soon!" he grinned. He hit Dylan a high five and rubbed his head. "I'll take you out driving this weekend and we'll see what you're made of."

Dylan didn't say anything in response because he knew where this was going. Taylor would already be at him.

"Nice try Chad." she said sarcastically. "But I know how your driving was in high school. Now it may have improved over the years but I'm still not going to trust you to teach Dylan to drive. Especially with his insurance rate."

"Hey it was gonna be high anyway. Mine practically skyrocketed at his age." Chad replied.

"Yes, and it was a miracle you didn't hit or kill anything." Taylor informed him. "And we should also consider defensive driving classes to decreate the rate a bit. And it wouldn't hurt us to go to one of those, either. I can look up information for all of that by January."

"Can we focus on getting him his license, first?" Chad asked. "And I think I'm the perfect candidate to drive him." He turned to his son. "Tell her Dill. You trust me behind the wheel, right?"

Dylan bit his tongue and thought for a minute. "Most of the time..."

"See Tay? What did I tell you?" Chad asked confidently, his hands on his hips. "He trusts me entire-" He stopped right away with wide eyes. "What did you just say?"

"Most of the time..." he almost hesitated to repeat.

"And there you have it." Taylor smirked. "I win. I'll review his skills and assist him with further teaching on the proper way to handle a motor vehicle."

"But it's supposed to be a father-son thing." Chad moaned.

"We do that when I watch some sports with you." Dylan shrugged. True, Chad didn't play sports anymore but he had gotten back into basketball just for fun as soon as Cheryl started getting her tiny hands on a ball. And Dylan wasn't that much into sports either, but he tried to understand and he used it as his chance to have some attempted guy time with his father. But it was obvious that while both kids were close to their parents equally they did have their favorite parent.

"Look Chad, just let it go." Taylor said. "Besides, it will give you more bonding time with Cheryl. You love doing that."

"Just wait till she turns into a teenager." Dylan joked, remembering how he saw so many fathers of girls in his class freak out when they were with boys.

"He's got you there." Taylor giggled. She proved her point by quoting all of the things Chad planned for their little girl. "She's never getting her hand at boys until she's our age. There is no way I am ever going to see her get close to a guy. Oh just wait until she learns the dangers of having a hormonal teenage boyfriend..."

"Ok, that does it!" Chad interrupted. "You better start running, Tay, cause you have a two second head start before I start chasing you."

"Oh I'm so scared." Taylor said sarcastically. And that was when Chad started after her, causing Taylor to run right back into the house with him directly behind her.

Dylan couldn't help but laugh at his dad's antics. Cheryl, on the other hand, just cocked her head from confusion. "They're wewd."

"You mean 'weird'." Dylan corrected with a smile as he picked her up. "But really, we're all weird sometimes Cherry. Now let's go watch Boomerang on TV, ok?" Besides, what else could be weirder than watching cartoons that were around in the nineteen-seventy's?

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"How was that turn?" Dylan asked after making a turn around a corner around town the next day.

"For the third time, the turn was just fine." Taylor replied with a smile, sitting in the passenger's seat.

"So you really think I can pass my road test at the end of the month and before school starts?" Dylan asked.

"Of course. You're going to be just fine." Taylor promised. "The important thing is to be prepared and stay calm. Your turns are fine and your stops have been a little hard so you know what that means?"

Dylan thought for a minute, trying to remember what he learned. "Ease up on the breaks at the last second or slow down sooner?"

"Slow down sooner. Only ease up on the breaks if the situation calls for it." she explained. "So how about we take this off the side streets and around town? We can grab a quick bite if you get hungry."

"Cool, I could use some food." Dylan grinned as he signaled to make another turn and then stopped at a red light. "But I thought only parallel parking was gonna be on the test?"

"It is. But parking in a lot will also help with your hand-eye coordination and help you gain experience now rather than after the road test where you might have a tougher time. And since it will be in a parking lot you'll have to look out for more pedestrians." Taylor explained.

"Right." Dylan nodded. As soon as the light turned green, he made the turn into the right lane as he was supposed to when making a right turn.

"Good." Taylor observed. "Now get into the middle lane."

That was one of the things Dylan had the most problems with. It was almost as hard as parallel parking. "What if I start drifting into the lane when I'm looking? Or I accidentally hit another car...?"

"That's why you check your mirrors and blind spots before changing." Taylor said calmly. "Come on, you know you can do it. Just change lanes when you're ready. Remember, mirrors, blind spots, steady."

"Got it." Dylan nodded, even though it didn't help his nerves much. He looked in the rearview mirror; there was a safe enough distance between him and the car behind him in the middle lane. He checked his left mirror; same amount of distance. Then he gulped and quickly turned his head to look behind him. Then his head switched back to the front, only to nearly slam on the breaks as a car in front of him stopped short. So much for changing lanes quickly. "I can't do it." he shook his head.

"Ok, who are you and what have you done with my son?" Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Because I'm pretty sure I didn't raise him to be a quitter."

"If that's one of the fake pep talks you're trying to give me to push me forward only to rub it in my face that it worked, it's not working." he shook his head. He started driving again once the car in front of him started moving, but now there were multiple cars traveling in the middle lane and he had no room to get over. The only spaces he saw with enough room to possibly get in where about four cars in front, but that would require going over the speed limit to get there, and then a couple of cars behind him, which would mean slowing down instead of keeping up with the flow of traffic.

Taylor could sense his nerves as he kept looking for a safe way to get over. "Somebody's chicken." she observed.

"What? Who, me?" Dylan asked. "No I'm not."

"Really, because I'm pretty sure I see a way for you to get over and here you are in the same lane. Maybe we should cancel that road test..." she tempted.

"No way!" Dylan insisted. He was going to prove her wrong. Seeing one of the cars in the middle lane get into the far left lane, Dylan took that as his opportunity to quickly signal and speed up just slightly and give him enough room and time to change lanes. He grinned proudly as he turned the signal off and continued driving. "How was that?" From the corner of his eye he glanced at his mother who was now smiling slyly. "Dang it!" he gasped, wanting to hit his head. "How does she do that?"

"I'm sitting right here, I can still hear you." Taylor informed him. "And trust me, I'm a mother. I can do a lot of things. So now you can get into the left lane."

"Oh man." Dylan moaned. Now he was going to have to go through it again!

Then it was a half hour later and they were driving back home. Every car they passed by that was parked decently, Taylor had told Dylan to parallel park behind it. They went through it a total of five times before arriving on their block. Three times, Dylan hit the curb. The other two times he executed everything perfectly but ended up parking too far.

"Come on, just one more car." Taylor pushed as they neared the house.

"But in the entire time I was in driver's ed I only made one perfect park." Dylan sighed. "I don't think I can do it again."

"You know the parallel park is the hardest thing to do. I thought it was hard, too." Taylor admitted. The procedure is easy enough to do in your head but the problem is executing it. As long as you know how to do it, all you need to know is the right way to do it."

"I don't follow." he shook his head.

Taylor pointed to a car up ahead. "Parallel park behind that car." she instructed.

Dylan nodded and signaled, then stopped at about the half way mark of the car like he leaned in class. He looked all around to make sure no cars were coming, and then put the car in reverse and turned the wheel a turn and a half like he was supposed to. He was about to take his foot off the brakes and start until Taylor stopped him.

"Think about angles." she told him. "You know all about angles, right?"

"Yeah, of course." he nodded.

"Then use the car to make a forty-five degree angle." Taylor explained. "As soon as you make that angle, then continue."

Dylan nodded and took his foot off the brake, starting to move the car back a bit. As soon as it seemed like the right angle, he stopped the car and turned the steering wheel a turn and a half in the opposite direction. He started going back, making sure to look all around.

"Make sure you go just a little slower." Taylor said, even though he was going slow enough. "This way even if you do touch the curb, even if you do go as slow as you do, you won't feel it."

"Ok..." Dylan said slowly. He did as he was told and then as soon as he thought he backed up enough, he turned the wheel in the same direction a turn and a half again. He kept moving slowly, straightening out the car. "How am I?" he asked, wanting to know before he could start pulling up.

Taylor shook her head. "You have to figure that out on your own."

Dylan held in a gulp as he slowly backed up just a little more to fix the car, and then put it in drive. He turned the wheel a turn and a half in the opposite direction once more and slowly proceeded to move forward. He moved the car just a little closer to the curb and then quickly straightened it out completely just before he could touch the car parked in front of him. He put the car in park and then took a deep breath. "How'd I do?"

"You executed that just fine." Taylor assured him with a smile. She opened her door to see how close he was to the curb. She smiled, "Just close enough. A couple more inches and it would have been too far from the curb."

"Wait a minute, so the park's legal?" Dylan gasped.

Taylor nodded as she closed the door. "It's legal. Now how about you get the car into the driveway?"

Dylan smiled and nodded eagerly. He slowly pulled away from the curb and drove down just a few houses and parked in the driveway. He parked the car and undid his seat belt, then removed the keys.

"You did just fine today, Dylan. We can do this again next weekend or when I have my day off from work." she assured him with a smile. She got out of the vehicle and headed into the house.

Wait a minute...every weekend? As in two whole days and driving for a good couple of hours? Dylan moaned as he hit his head on the wheel. But then he realized he just had to keep telling himself one thing.

"That's better than Dad's teaching. That's better than Dad's teaching."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Chad sighed as he sat down on the bed, his arms folded like he was pouting. It was easy to tell that he was dressed nicely, as he and Taylor were getting ready to meet their friends for some big get-together at Sharpay's and Zeke's.

"Oh quit your pouting, Chad." Taylor told him as she stood in front of the mirror adjusting the earrings she was putting on. "You're still down because Dylan didn't want you to help him with his driving."

"And do you know what kinda vibe that gives a guy? It's like he doesn't trust me with a car." Chad replied.

"Don't worry, he does trust you." Taylor promised. "But you forget, it took you three tries to pass your road test and you were lucky to even get a seventy in your driver's ed class." She spun around to him, "And who was the one who aced not only the course, but the road test on try one?"

"You did." Chad muttered.

"Exactly." she grinned. "That makes me more qualified."

"Yeah well, you don't need to rub it in my face." Chad said.

"Ok, I'm sorry." Taylor apologized. "But you don't need to make a big deal out of it. And we still need to talk about cars for when he does pass his road test."

"Well if he practices on your car he can take your car." Chad shrugged.

"Not going to work. We both need our own cars to get to work." Taylor said. "Maybe once in a while he can use my car for school or an emergency, but maybe it would be better if he saved up for his own car when he gets a job next summer."

"Hey it was torture enough for me to go through with that." Chad said.

Taylor put her hands on her hips. "Well excuse me for dating you at the time when you were the one who wanted to car." she said icily. She turned on her heel and walked out of the room.

Chad hit his head. "Ok, I didn't mean it like that." he said quickly, following her downstairs.

Dylan looked up from the TV as he saw them come downstairs. Cheryl turned her head as well. "Leabin alweady?" she asked.

"Yeah, we were just heading out." Chad said quickly before turning back to Taylor. "Now can we talk...?"

"Forget it. I'll go on my own, you stay here and watch the kids." Taylor told him.

"We were just arguing over a car." Chad replied.

"Well you don't need to worry. There's no one you need to argue with now." Taylor said. "Look Chad, just go do what you want. I'm out of here. Don't wait up." She walked out the front door, quietly slamming it behind her.

Dylan whistled. "That was cold." he observed. He knew his parents had a tendency to argue at points, but lately it was more frequent. He hoped it didn't have something to do with him driving or learning. Besides, he was learning more about arguing at this point than he ever was about driving. Covering up his thoughts, he looked at Chad. "So who's turn was it to start the fight this time?" he asked, trying to joke around about it.

Chad just shook his head and walked back upstairs.

Cheryl blinked and looked at her brother. "Does this mean no poppycorn for dinner tonight?" she asked.

Dylan quietly shushed her, not wanting Chad to hear them talk about that. "Maybe next time."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

About a week later it was time for Dylan's road test. He hadn't stopped being nervous the entire time. But it wasn't just the test that was getting him nervous. His parents were still giving each other the cold shoulder. Maybe he should just leave now, or flunk on purpose.

"Dylan?" Taylor asked again. "Are you alright?"

Dylan snapped out of it, "Yeah. Just a little nervous, I guess."

"You can do it. You've been practicing for weeks now. You're ready." she promised. "And even if you do fail, which I'm sure you won't, you can drown your sorrows in ice cream or walnuts and take the test again in a month. It'll be ok."

"I know." Dylan nodded. He tapped his fingers on the wheel as he continued waiting for his turn.

"Then why does it seem like something else is bothering you?" Taylor wondered, ever the observant one.

Dylan sighed and looked at her. "Are you and Dad still not talking?"

Taylor blinked. "Dylan, is that what's bothering you?" she asked. "Why do you need to be so concerned?"

"You've been giving each other the cold shoulder for a week now. That's like a new record." he replied.

"Trust me, we could go longer if we wanted to." Taylor muttered. She shook her head and put a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "You don't need to worry about when we argue. Your father and I can't go forever without talking to each other."

"But didn't it have something to do with me driving?" Dylan asked.

"What gave you that idea?" Taylor asked. "Of course not. It may have had to deal with cars, but it had nothing to do with you driving. He just might have been pouting a little that he wasn't the one you wanted to teach him driving."

"He just doesn't seem like he'd have all the patience to teach me driving, and like he wouldn't scold me if I did something wrong or almost hit a car." Dylan said.

"Maybe he doesn't. But I should have given him at least one chance to teach you." she said. "Look, how about after you pass this test you take him out for a drive and show him what you can do?"

"So you really think I can pass?" Dylan inquired.

"Of course." she nodded.

"And does this mean you're gonna make up with Dad?" he asked hopefully.

"And maybe if we're lucky, a few other things." Taylor smiled slyly.

"Ok, didn't need to hear that." he muttered.

Taylor giggled. She saw the driving instructor come over and that gave her the cue she needed to leave. "And now I need to get out of here. Good luck on the test." she told him. She kissed him on the head before getting out of the car.

Dylan took a deep breath as he clutched the wheel tighter. He turned his head to see the instructor getting into the car and checking everything over before strapping himself in.

"When you're ready."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"We're back." Dylan called as he walked into the house an hour later. Taylor followed in behind him as she closed the door.

"Hi!" Cheryl called eagerly as she ran downstairs. "How was the test?"

"Hey, don't spill without me." Chad gasped as he walked into the room. "Ok, now you can spill. How'd it go?"

A smile grew on Dylan's face. "I passed!"

"No way!" Chad gasped. He gave his son a congratulatory man hug. "Way to go, kiddo."

Dylan smiled and then scooped up his sister. "Just wait, I'm gonna drive you to the park next year and you can play all the games there you want!"

"Asketball in back?" she asked hopefully.

Dylan laughed and took her outside. "Sure Cherry, we can play some basketball. You're gonna beat me so easily."

Chad chuckled as he watched his kids go out. He rubbed the back of his head and turned to Taylor. "Guess all that teaching you gave him paid off. What did you say to him?"

Taylor shrugged. "A few things. That he was going to do fine, that we practiced every weekend so he'd be ready, that we both believed in him...and that we'd make up and he'd have nothing to worry about."

"Did we really throw him off with all of our not arguing?" Chad wondered.

"Dylan got this crazy idea that he had something to do with us fighting." Taylor replied.

"Yeah he is crazy." Chad said.

Taylor's eyes widened. "Chad!"

"Kidding." Chad chuckled. "Man I can't believe you fell for that. You should've seen the look on your face!"

Taylor shook her head. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"So I've been told." Chad stated. "Does that means it'd be impossible to catch a movie?"

Taylor put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Chad Danforth are you trying to butter me up?"

"Maybe..." he said innocently.

Taylor rolled her eyes and shook her head. "How about later on you let Dylan drive you somewhere and see what he's learned and I'll watched Cheryl?" she suggested. She started heading into the backyard, but then turned around and winked at him. "And then we can catch that movie."

Chad smiled as he watched her walk out. He walked over to the back door and looked outside at his family, now playing with a basketball. "Hey, that is not the right way to handle a basketball!" he called as he ran out. "Man you guys got a lot to learn!"

* * *

Kind of a lame-ish ending I think, but once again I was stuck fighting off writer's block on how to end it. I thought I had an idea and then I completely forget it. Don't you hate it when that happens? -_-' Luckily I have a snow day today so that means all day to do an update on this or something else. ^^ So I'll just leave it at this for now and see what will be next.


	6. Boys Will be Girls?

So this will be my second update today, since this is the only thing I don't seem to have complete writer's block with right now. xD I first wanted to start off by saying thank you for all of the reviews and I'm happy that overall all of the chapters are enjoyed. I am having my own movies marathon as I do this at the moment and I'm ending the Simpsons movies shortly. Comedy gold if you ask me. ^^ Anyway I shall move on with these and see when the next time is I can update something else. So, happy reading to all!_  
_Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the characters from the movie.  
_Chapter Six Summary: Troy's a little concerned with Timothy. With three sisters and a best friend who's a girl why is he playing with so many dolls and not acting like a little boy? He needs some real advice. Elsewhere, Ryan and Kelsi are back in town; Ryan tries to help Troy along with Chad and Kelsi is having some girl time with her friends.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Six: Boys Will be Girls?  
**

"No Corrie, don't put that on my Ken doll!" six-year-old Timothy gasped as he grabbed the doll back from one of his younger sisters.

The four-year-old looked at her brother curiously. Shaggy long hair fell into her face and she stared at him with her big brown eyes. "Why not? Is cute." she said.

"But those don't go together!" Tim gasped. "You can't mix a striped green and blue shirt with white and red polka-dotted pants. They clash." He started to remove the outfit until four-year-old Cheryl took the doll from him. "Oh c'mon, mix it up a little huh?" she told him. "And while you're at it put on a cool jester's hat!"

"Are you crazy?" Tim questioned. "Don't do that!" he tried snatching the toy back.

Corrie's twin, Justina, looked up at eight-year-old Gina, their older sister, and blinked her blue eyes with confusion. "Should we go tell Mama and Dada what they're doin?" she asked.

"I dunno. I mean, they're not fighting or anything." Gina observed.

"C'mon, give it back!" Tim repeated as he tried pulling the doll back from Cheryl.

"No way, you gots to share!" she argued, tugging on it.

"Yeah well it's my toy so don't put stuff on it that I don't want on it!" Timothy replied.

Corrie just looked back and forth between her brother and friend as they fought over Ken.

"C'mon, it's my turn!" Cheryl insisted.

Timothy pulled her on top of him as they continued fighting over the doll. "Give it back!"

"You give it!" Cheryl countered as she continued pulling on it, even though they were now rolling all over the floor as they fought over it.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Corrie cheered in between giggles as she watched.

Justina looked up at Gina. Gina replied with a nod. "Ok, now we should tell them." she decided. "Mom! Dad! Auntie! Uncle!" she called as she ran into the other room. Justina stood there confused for a minute with the wavy hair resting on her shoulders. "Wait for me!" she yelled, following her sister.

Troy picked up his head, thinking he heard his girls. "Did you guys hear something?" he asked.

Gabriella shook her head. "No. Why?"

"I thought I heard the kids." Troy said.

Chad chuckled. "Dude, every time you think you hear your kids you sound like it's an international crisis or something."

Troy was about to counter until he saw Gina and Justina run in. "Timmy and Cheryl are fighting over Timmy's Ken doll!" Gina exclaimed as she ran in.

"What are you gonna do?" Justina asked curiously.

The adults exchanged glances. Then the four of them ran into the next room. "What'd I tell you?" Troy asked Chad.

"Ok, ok, I get your point." Chad muttered.

As soon as they made it into the room, the mothers pulled their children off of each other. "What on Earth was going on?" Gabriella gasped as Timothy continued to try and pull Ken away from Cheryl.

"She's stealing my toy!" Tim gasped.

"Am not!" Cheryl argued as she almost had it completely in her grasp.

Taylor glared down at the little girl, "Cheryl Dominique, give Timothy his toy back right now."

"But it was my turn." Cheryl moaned.

"Give it back..." she reprimanded.

Cheryl sighed. No one had a chance when it came to her mother's stare like that. She reluctantly handed it back over to Timothy.

"What were you two doing fighting over a toy?" Gabriella asked, utterly confused. The two happened to be best friends along with Corrie while Justina was closest to Gina. What Gabriella couldn't understand was why they practically tackled each other over it.

"What were you doing fighting over a doll?" Troy gasped.

"My doll!" Timothy corrected.

Troy blinked and turned to Gabriella. "When did he get a doll? What happened to action figures?"

Gabriella bit her tongue as her gaze slowly shifted towards Chad and Taylor.

"Guys..." Troy said sternly, eying his friends.

"Well he might have hinted about it for his birthday last month..." Taylor admitted. "And it was a good deal."

"What's the big deal anyway, dude?" Chad shrugged. "Dylan thought it was a good idea, too. It even came with a little dog action figure thingy that Tim would love just as much."

"I gave it to Corrie..." Timothy admitted.

"I put it in my baby jewelry box!" Corrie cheered, remembering the jewelry box she had gotten as an infant from her grandparents. It was the same one Justina had, except Corrie's was red and Justina's was purple.

"Ok, so then why is Timmy playing with dolls?" Troy gasped.

"He likes them. He and I share toys all the time." Gina said. "And Justy and Corrie love them, too."

"But...but...but...." Troy stammered.

Gabriella bit her bottom lip. She turned to her friends, knowing that this had to be going somewhere. She sent them a pleading glance.

Chad and Taylor both nodded, catching it. "You know, we really should get going anyway." Taylor said quickly. "I just remembered, I told Dylan I'd help him study for midterms."

"Yeah, and I should really..." Chad started, trying to think of a good excuse. And from the raised eyebrows he was getting from everyone else he knew he was stuck. "I'm driving." he finished. He turned around and walked out of the house.

Taylor rolled her eyes and followed Chad out, leaving Troy and Gabriella alone with their kids.

Troy turned to Gabriella as soon as they had a free minute. "Now what is Timmy doing playing with dolls? He is a six-year-old _boy_. Why isn't he playing with action figures?"

"Troy you worry way too much." Gabriella said. She looked at her four children with confused looks. She slowly put Tim down. "How about you guys go play in your rooms? We need some privacy in here."

Gina nodded, understanding her parents the easiest. "C'mon guys." she said, leading her younger siblings away.

Gabriella turned back to Troy once they were out of earshot. "He has three sisters, Troy. His best friend is a girl. What else do you expect him to play with?"

"Balls. Action figures." Troy shrugged. "Not something girlie like dolls."

"And I'm telling you that it's nothing to worry about." Gabriella assured him. "So maybe Timmy won't be all man like you always said you were. He'll just have a more feminine side to him is all. There's nothing wrong with that. Just because he's a boy doesn't mean he has to be masculine."

"But how's it gonna look around other boys his age or older? They'll get the wrong idea about him." Troy said.

"Let them think what they want." Gabriella replied. "The important thing is that Tim is happy with who he is. And if he's as strong as you are then he won't give into peer pressure easily. So what if he likes more girl stuff than boy stuff? What if he has more girl friends than boy friends? As long as he's happy we're happy." She looked down at her watch. "I have to make a call in to the restaurant, ok?" she asked. "I need to see who can make it in for me tomorrow."

"What's tomorrow?" Troy asked, confused.

"My personal day for the month. Or next couple of months." Gabriella answered. "Kelsi and Ryan are coming in again and you know how long I've been wanting to see Kelsi. We were going to have a girl's day. And it would give the kids more time together. It's a four day weekend for Gina and Timmy, remember? And the twins start preschool in less than a year."

"But Gabs..." Troy started.

"Just relax, ok Troy?" Gabriella sighed. "I'll see you at dinner." She turned around and went up to their bedroom.

Troy just sighed he stayed where he was, running his hand through his hair. There had to be a way to fix thins, he just knew it.

--page break--page break--page break--

Gabriella paced around Sharpay's living room while the other girls were busy conversing. She didn't even know what they were talking about anymore. She was too busy being occupied with other things in her mind. Luckily all of the kids were playing in the other room so there was nothing to worry about.

"Gabriella did you hear us?" Sharpay Baylor asked. She folded her arms and glanced at her friend. "Gabriella!"

Gabriella blinked, snapping out of it. "Huh? What?" she asked, turning to the girls.

"You've been like this all day." Sharpay said. "What is your problem?"

"I don't have one!" Gabriella gasped, taking her question the wrong way.

"What Sharpay means is," Taylor attempted to correct, "you're a little out of it today. Do you have something on your mind?"

"No." Gabriella lied. "I'm fine."

"Well if you were paying attention then you'd know that Kelsi has something important to tell us." Sharpay informed her.

"No guys, it's ok." Kelsi Evans said calmly. "It can wait."

"No it can't." Sharpay said. "Kelsi, as your sister-in-law I am demanding that you tell us what is on your mind this second."

"But Gabriella seems so distracted..." Kelsi started. It wasn't that she had anything against her friends or she was as shy as she used to be. But Kelsi didn't like it when people, especially her friends, made a big deal out of something that anyone hasn't even talked about yet. It didn't seem to help Gabriella and it certainly wasn't helping her.

"No, I'm fine." Gabriella shook her head.

"You don't seem fine to me." Sharpay sang. "Now tell me right now what it going on. And that goes for both of you." she pointed to Gabriella and Kelsi, going back and forth between each one.

"Gabriella can go first, really." Kelsi said.

"No, you should go first." Gabriella replied.

"Somebody go first before I get the urge to check on the kids thinking they'll murder each other somehow." Taylor insisted.

"Oh my God, they're going to kill each other?" Gabriella gasped. She started running into the other room to check on them.

Sharpay folded her arms and glared at Taylor. "Big mouth."

"I meant..." Taylor started, then sighed heavily. "Oh forget it. I'll go get her." She got up off the couch and walked out, but pointed at Kelsi when she reached the doorway. "You are spilling whatever it is you need to as soon as we get back in this room."

Kelsi sighed as her friend walked out. Could she be any more cornered?

"Gabriella what is going on with you?" Taylor questioned as she caught Gabriella staring at the kids in the doorway of the other room.

Gabriella gasped and spun to Taylor. "I'm fine." she said quickly, caught off guard.

"I was being sarcastic about them killing each other." Taylor informed her.

"Ok and who's child started the doll fight first?" Gabriella crossed her arms, recalling the other day.

"Hey, Cheryl got more of Chad's genes than mine." Taylor said defensively. That reminded her.... "Does this have anything to do with what Troy thinks of Timothy?"

"What? No!" Gabriella replied. "Why would you think that?"

"Well you did shoo us out early as soon as Troy got concerned with Timothy's toys. What, does he think that Tim's going to walk the slanted line when he's older?" Taylor asked.

"You can say the g word, Tay." Gabriella rolled her eyes. "And no, I'm sure he doesn't."

"First of all, it's not my fault I'm worried that if I say it then it'll come out the wrong way." she stated. "And second of all, then what is Troy's outtake on it anyway? I'm sure he's told you his thoughts."

"Yeah, that every other boy will pick on Timothy just because he's a little more feminine." Gabriella admitted.

"So what?" Taylor asked. "He's still a child. Not even a preteen. And you know his school doesn't tolerate something like bullying. What happened to being comfortable with who he is?"

"At this rate, Tim might learn it when he's sixteen instead of six." Gabriella sighed. "I'm just worried that Troy's going to pull something on him."

"Ok so then why not talk about it in front of Sharpay and Kelsi?" she asked.

"Because they weren't there when we saw Troy's reaction about Timmy's doll." Gabriella answered. "I'm not sure they'd understand. Besides they don't have children yet, let alone one."

"I say you're worrying too much. It's not like Troy's going to try and get the boys to turn Timothy into a more 'manly' boy than a 'girlie' one." Taylor put a hand on her hip.

Gabriella gulped as she was now left alone. Troy had better not be planning something like that!

--page break--page break--page break--

"Ok guys so really, what do I do?" Troy moaned.

"Aren't you blowing this outta proportion?" Chad asked.

"Throw in something to do with baking and you'd sound like Zeke right now." Troy muttered, thinking of their friend Zeke Baylor who was stuck working double shifts at his bakery and had to cancel with his buds.

Ryan Evans just rubbed his head. "What are you two even talking about?" he asked.

Troy's head snapped to Ryan. This was perfect! This was the kind of advice he was hoping to get! "People accused you of liking guys. How did you handle it?"

"Wait, what?" Ryan blinked. "You don't seriously think I'm like that do you? Last I checked I'm married. With a girl."

"He's got a point." Chad stated.

"That is not the point!" Troy snapped before turning back to Ryan. "So how did you handle it all?"

"Ok you lost me." Ryan said.

"Troy's worried that his only son would rather play with Barbie dolls than Superman action figures." Chad answered with a roll of his eyes.

"What's wrong with that?" Ryan asked. "Doesn't he have three sisters?"

"And a best friend who happens to be a girl." Chad added.

"Right. So what's the problem?" Ryan shrugged.

"Maybe you could tell Timmy how bad it is to act like that." Troy suggested. "That he'll be made fun of and everything."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what? What does that have to do with anything? Hey I get it if you're worried about his well being and all but you can't change him."

"Well why can't you talk to him then?" Troy asked. "Convince him that it's bad to have a feminine side?"

"But it's ok for him to be less masculine than other men." Ryan said. "I grew up with Sharpay my whole life. And with her in my house sharing practically everything with me you can't blame me for being a little less manly can you? Imagine how Tim would be growing up with three girls who aren't like Sharpay."

"Yeah but..." Troy tried again.

"You're worrying too much." Ryan repeated. "It's nothing to worry about. Just let him develop like all kids. He'll grow up to be a perfectly fine man. And look at it this way, he'll get along with girls so much easier maybe he'll have better luck with girls than you."

Troy couldn't help but chuckle at Ryan's last statement. "Yeah well, we'll see."

Chad just rubbed his chin in confusion. "You didn't share Sharpay's underwear, did you?" he asked Ryan.

--page break--page break--page break--

"Zeke can't you get someone else to cover for you?" Sharpay sighed almost around dinner time as she conversed with her husband over the phone.

"I'm sorry Sharpay, but this is the only five minutes I'll have free for the next few hours." Zeke Baylor apologized. "And you know how crazy it gets around here. Why do you think I asked Dylan to help out over here? Heck, why do you think I keep offering him a job here?"

"Zeke Baylor, you get your butt to our house right now!" Sharpay demanded. "Kelsi has big news to tell us and who knows when we'll get to be like this again."

"You were just told to say that, weren't you?" Zeke guessed.

"Ok, maybe a little." Sharpay admitted sheepishly. "But that still doesn't change things!"

"Look, I'll try and get there as soon as I can, before midnight." Zeke promised. "And I'll try and make up for it another night ok?"

"Ok." Sharpay reluctantly agreed. "But don't come complaining to us if you're left out of the loop because you've got fifty double chocolate chip cream cakes to make."

"Deal." Zeke nodded. "Now put Chad or Taylor on. I'll let them talk to Dylan before it gets so crazy he won't have a chance to tell them he'll be late."

"Alright." Sharpay nodded. "Talk to you tonight, and call me when you leave. Love you."

"Love you too, Shar. Tell everyone I said hi." Zeke replied with a nod. As he handed the phone to Dylan they could both hear Sharpay yelling, "Danforth! Get on this phone now or you're being thrown out the window!" Zeke and Dylan exchanged glances. Zeke gave a single nod. "Try and be out front in five minutes, ok?"

"Yeah." Dylan nodded. "Thanks Zeke."

"Yo Dill, what up?" Chad asked as soon as he got his hands on the phone.

"Sharpay didn't throw you out the window?" Dylan joked.

Chad made a face at the comment. "Ok I am not gonna be the one you talk to when we're out with friends and you're out late." he decided.

"Right..." Dylan said slowly. "I'm just gonna be kinda late tonight. Zeke said he'd drive me home when he closes. He's gonna try to make it out at eleven."

"Alright." Chad nodded. "Don't work too late, ok? You've still gotta clean your room this week."

Dylan sighed. "Mom made you tell me that didn't she?" he asked.

"Yup." Chad nodded.

"And she's standing right behind you right now, isn't she?" Dylan guessed.

Chad looked behind him to see Taylor with her arms folded and listening intently. Chad nodded to himself and turned back to the phone. "How'd you guess?"

"I'll clean it tomorrow." Dylan said. "Let me know how it goes with everyone."

"We will." Chad said. "Try to have fun."

"And don't come home covered in butter again." Taylor added.

"I'll try." Dylan replied. "See you later."

"Later kiddo." Chad replied. He hung up his phone and turned to Taylor. "What's next, you're gonna show up at Zeke's bakery and make sure Dill's still in one piece?" he teased.

"Hey you are not insinuating that I'm embarrassing." Taylor put her hands on her hips.

"Maybe." Chad said innocently as he walked back to the others.

"Oh I'll show him embarrassing." Taylor muttered.

In the meantime, Troy made his way over to Timothy. "Hey Timmy."

Timothy looked up at Troy. "Hi Dad." he greeted.

"Were you playing nice with the girls this time?" Troy asked, getting down to his level.

"Yeah." he nodded. "Corrie and Cheryl didn't try to steal Ken this time."

"Why do you like dolls so much?" Troy wondered.

"Gina and Justy and Corrie and Cheryl play with them all the time." Timothy replied. "Well...mostly Gina and Corrie. But sometimes they let me share them. Besides I only wanted to play with the Ken doll. He looked way cooler."

Troy raised an eyebrow. "Wait...so you only wanted the Ken doll cause he looked cool?"

"Uh-huh." he nodded. "He's tough, too. He gets all the girls. But he can't get em if his clothes don't match."

"You already know what girls like, don't you?" Troy asked.

"Yeah. Cept they could gimme cooties." Tim nodded.

Troy chuckled. So he never had to worry about anything the whole time! He was just being paranoid. "You're gonna do when you get older, you know that?"

Timothy smiled and nodded as though he knew what was going on the whole time. "I know."

"Ok guys, enough with the family moments." Sharpay called throughout the room. "Someone still has an announcement to make." She eyed Kelsi, who had never been that comfortable with declaring something in a large group even with her closest friends.

Kelsi looked around at her friends nervously, who were now all eying her. She gulped, not sure if she should do this now. She walked over to Sharpay and pulled on her arm slightly. "I can't do this." she whispered. "I haven't even told Ryan yet."

"Kelsi, you are going to tell him. You're going to tell everyone." Sharpay whispered back. "Who am I kidding? You're even telling me before I have your head for it! Now start talking!"

Kelsi nodded and took a deep breath. She looked over at Ryan, then walked over to him and took his hands. "Ryan...we're going to have to find a real house to live in soon."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?" he wondered. "I thought we had all of those plans for traveling and for your music...I was gonna look around for more hats for my online hat store...."

"I think our plans are going to need to be changed a bit." Kelsi admitted. She took a deep breath. "Ryan..." she looked briefly around the room at her friends, "Everyone..." then she turned back to Ryan, "...we're going to be having a baby."

There was complete silence in the room. Everyone was shocked, slowly taking it in. Kelsi became worried for a minute, that no one liked the news. But that didn't last long. The girls let out loud squeals and pulled in Kelsi for a hug.

"Kelsi this is amazing!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I can't believe it! Wait until it gets here!"

"We are so taking you our shopping for baby clothes as soon as you find out what it is." Taylor added eagerly. "We could have a real girl's day out."

"I'm going to be a real aunt! This is so exciting!" Sharpay added.

The men covered their ears at the girls' squeals. "Hey can we have a real manly moment around here before we become girlafied?" Chad joked.

"Oh I'm sorry. We're not embarrassing you, are we?" Taylor asked sarcastically, turning to him with her arms folded.

"Someone's in trouble." Troy chuckled. He gave Kelsi a quick hug. "We're gonna have a future composer around here. How great is that?"

Sharpay walked over to her brother and patted him on the back. "Don't sound so shocked and quiet Ryan. Say something." she urged.

Kelsi reluctantly turned to him, a bit afraid of Ryan's reaction. Besides, it had been about three years since they got married and they both agreed to wait a while before thinking about kids. But did they have enough time?

Ryan took a few deep breaths, almost like he was hyperventilating. "Wait a minute.... So you're saying...that I'm going to...be a dad?" he gasped in between breaths.

Kelsi nodded quietly. "Yes." she admitted quietly.

A smile on Ryan's face grew rapidly. "Kels, that's awesome!" he cheered. He grabbed her and lifted her up, spinning her around. "This is incredible! We're gonna be parents!"

"Wait, so you're not mad?" Kelsi realized as Ryan put her down.

"You kidding?" Ryan exclaimed. "we gotta celebrate! We gotta think names! We gotta go house hunting! What are we waiting for?" He practically started running around the house. "Woo-hoo!" he cheered.

Kelsi couldn't help but laugh. She went back to the girls and hugged them. She started foring Ryan to jump up and down and squeal along with her and Sharpay. While they did that, Gabriella pulled Troy over to the side.

"So how was your guy's day today?" she inquired.

"It was...something." Troy admitted.

"And you didn't try to convince them to help you change Timmy around?" Gabriella asked.

"I almost did. But then I actually talked to Tim tonight." Troy explained. "He actually uses the Ken doll as a kind of role model. And it'll really help him get girls when he's older. Well...impress them, I mean. He's gonna be a real charmer when he grows up."

"So you're not concerned about him being less 'masculine' than most boys?" Gabriella wondered, using air quotes.

"Not as concerned now as I was yesterday." Troy shook his head. "But he is my son. And whatever he grows up to be I'll be happy. No matter what. If he's happy I'm happy."

Gabriella just stared at him for a minute. Then she nodded and smiled. "You're a good father, Troy."

As Troy and Gabriella conversed, Chad walked over to Taylor. "So I think I'm gonna go grab Cheryl so we can head home soon." he said.

Taylor just stared at him and folded her arms. "Oh, so you're not still embarrassed by me?" she inquired coolly.

"Ok every time I say a wrong thing are you gonna hold it against me?" Chad asked.

"Maybe." she shrugged.

"Look I was just kidding around ok? I didn't mean to open my big fat mouth." Chad replied.

"You don't have a fat mouth." Taylor informed him more calmly this time. That made Chad sigh with relief. "Just go make sure she's not causing any trouble ok?"

"Yeah." Chad nodded as she walked away. He headed around the room to search for the kids.

"Hey give it back!" Timothy gasped as he tried grabbing his Ken doll from Cheryl again.

"You had him all day. Is my turn!" Cheryl argued as she tugged on it.

"Whoa whoa hey, break it up!" Chad gasped. "Yo Troy, code kid!" he called across the room.

Troy ran over as if right on cue and picked up Timothy while Chad got a hold of Cheryl. Even as they were lifted up, both children continued fighting over Ken. Corrie laughed and clapped as she watched from the floor. "Lemme play!" she exclaimed as she jumped up, managing to grab one of the doll's legs while the other two pulled on his arms. So now the men were trying to tear apart two children in their arms from a toy and another one was practically hanging from the doll instead of pulling from the floor. Troy and Chad exchanged worried glances, not sure what they could do. How were they supposed to win against three kids? So they did the only thing they could think of.

They called loudly for help and screamed like girls.

* * *

Yup so I was doing this almost all day. I started this during the Simpsons movie, then continued during HSM3 while eating white chedder cheese popcorn, then continued while not watching TV, and just finished after dinner. So yup, instead of doing my homework this was how I spent my snow day. ^^ Hey, I'm a procrastinator, what can I say? xD So if we don't get more snow by tomorrow I'll probably be back at school and I'll have to see if I can get in another update or not. Till then, later people!


	7. First Crush

So first I want to say thank you once again for the reviews so far. ^^ Thank you RamandusDaughter23, lilmissmonique, digigirl02, and ChaylorTwilightQueen10. So I'm going to try and put in more couples in these oneshots so we can mix it up a bit. But it's all being done one step at a time. So that brings us to this chapter, which I give credit to RamandusDaughter23 for the idea. I hope it turns out nicely. C=  
Disclaimer: I do not own HSM or the characters from the movie.  
_Chapter Seven Summary: Dylan's becoming a little self-conscious. He's ready to graduate high school and he's never gotten a girl. He's never even had a crush before! How hard is that to believe? So will he finally get a girl or is he going to need some assistance from the parental patrol?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Seven: First Crush  
**

"Dude, check it out!"

Dylan turned away from his locker and to his friend Cooper. "Whatchya got?" he asked, referring to the sheet of paper Cooper was now waving.

"Another lady's phone number." Cooper smirked, throwing it in Dylan's palm. "Read it and weep, Dill."

Dylan just smiled politely and shook his head. This had to be too good to be true; it always was. And as soon as he read the digits, he burst out laughing. "Dude, this isn't a girl's number!" he chuckled. "It spells 'hello' upside down!"

"What?" Cooper's eyes widened as he snatched the paper from his friend. He moaned as he threw it on the floor. "Oh man! Tricked again!"

"You're always tricked, dude." Dylan stated.

"Not always." Cooper lied.

Dylan began counting off each memory with his finger. "Grade nine, Emily Randsack, she gave you the numbers one through three. Grade ten, Rhonda Lloyd, she turned you down in five different languages. Grade ten again, Hannah Nuddle, the only number she gave you was seven. Last year, grade eleven, Daley Hales, she just laughed in your face. And now, this."

"Gee, thanks for the support." Cooper muttered sarcastically. "And when was the last time you got a girl?"

Dylan opened his mouth to counter, but Cooper beat him to it.

"That's right, never." he laughed.

"I just never had a crush. That so hard to believe?" Dylan asked.

"For a guy, yeah." Cooper nodded. "C'mon man, there's gotta be one girl out there somewhere."

"Nah, I don't think so." Dylan shook his head. He took out the last book he needed and closed his locker.

"Dill man, you're eighteen." Cooper insisted. "You need to get a girl before you head to college."

"Ok...why?" Dylan inquired.

"Cause you ain't gonna be cool if you don't. and what would other guys think?" he replied.

"I think I'll worry about that when they start making fun of me. Besides I have more important things to worry about than thinking about and making some googly eyes at..." His voice slowly trailed off as he watched one of his classmates pass by. Her skin tone was a little lighter than his and Cooper's, and her brown hair had a slight wave to it and went just past her shoulders. About an average body for a girl and no taller than five foot four. Dylan got lost as his eyes followed her, "...some really...really...really..."

"Hot girl?" Cooper laughed, finishing him off.

"Pretty." Dylan corrected, nodding eagerly.

"Wait, pretty but not hot?" Cooper asked. "C'mon, you're not insulting her by saying she's hot. Or smokin."

"Yeah...but..." Dylan stammered as he continued watching the girl.

Cooper raised an eyebrow and followed the direction that Dylan was looking. "Dude, do you know who that is?" he gasped as the girl stopped at her locker. "That's Kiara Connors! She's one of the smartest girls in school and gets to design all the posters for school events!"

"I know. How cool is that?" Dylan asked, all flustered just thinking about it. Or rather, her.

Cooper hit his forehead. "Ok man, that's it. Your first crush in like, ever. You gotta go for it."

Dylan hung his head in disappointment. He shook it and turned back to his friend. "I don't think so. She probably doesn't know I exist."

"That's what everyone says when they get a crush." Cooper stated.

"What's your point?" Dill asked.

He sighed, "Look your work has been in all the art shows. You almost always go to school events. You have a hand in with most of the clubs at school. You're always on head for things like dance committees. And you're not so dumb yourself."

"Gee, thanks." Dylan said sarcastically.

"My point is, with all that you got goin on how can she not know about you?" Cooper replied.

"Cause she's probably got better things to do than watch guys like me. Or any guys for that matter." Dylan said.

"Doubt it." Cooper shook his head. "You gotta put yourself out there man. And you gotta do it before some other dude does it or consider your chance, and the girl, off the market." He pat Dylan on the back. "Good luck man." he encouraged before walking off.

Dylan let out a sigh as he looked back in Kiara's direction. She was still at her locker, conversing with a couple of other girls. And while they talked in a rather content manner, all Dylan could do was stare from afar.

---

Dylan moved his fork through his pasta rather slowly. His head was tilted so it was resting on his hand. He didn't touch his food or drink, not to mention he seemed rather distant. He had been like that all night, most likely still worrying about his girl problems.

"Dill.." his father repeated for probably the fifth time that night.

Dylan's head shot up. "Huh?" he asked.

"You haven't touched your food." Chad replied. "Is my cooking that bad?"

"Honey, your cooking was never that good." Taylor shook her head, not bothering to look up.

Chad's head shot over to her. "But you're eating it now."

"I know," she nodded. "That's just to flatter you."

"And that makes me feel so much better." Chad muttered.

Dylan just shook his head at his parents. He wasn't finding that completely funny for once. "I'm fine." he said. "I'm just...not that hungry."

"Then can I have your plate?" Six-year-old Cheryl asked eagerly as she reached her fork across the table to get a hold of Dylan's food.

"Finish your plate." Taylor told her.

Cheryl pouted and reluctantly started eating from her own plate of pasta.

Taylor shook her head and turned to Dylan. "Are you sure everything's ok?" she wondered. "Is it something at school?"

"No." Dylan shook his head. "Everything is fine. Nothing to worry about."

"Dylan you can't avoid whatever it is forever." Chad stated. "Trust me, it never works. I know, I've tried."

"It's ok." Dylan replied. "I'm fine. I'm just gonna go watch some TV, if that's ok." He slowly got up from his seat and pushed his chair in, then headed to the living room.

Chad sighed and took a sip from his glass. "He didn't pick up the stubbornness from me, that's for sure." he muttered.

Taylor just looked at him doubtfully and cocked her head. "Chad you should really go talk to him." she encouraged softly.

"Why do I have to?" Chad asked. "He's your son."

"He was yours first." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Chad, please check on him? What if something's bothering him that he doesn't want to talk about?"

"Like what?" Chad asked.

"Maybe some guy talk. And you're the only other guy in this house." Taylor said.

"Tay I can't help him forever. What happens if he goes away to university next year? Then where am I gonna be? Maybe he just needs to be no his own and think." Chad replied.

"In other words, you're not going to talk to him." Taylor summed up.

"Not unless he's going through some narcotic depression we should know about." he shrugged.

"Alright." Taylor decided as she went back to eating. "Then I'm not giving you a kiss tonight."

Chad blinked. "As in, one less kiss, or none at all?"

"None at all." she answered simply.

Chad practically jumped out of his seat. "I think I'll go talk to Dylan now." he decided as he went into the living room.

Taylor grinned proudly. "Works every time."

"So..." Cheryl finally spoke up, hoping to get her way now, "...can I finish Dill's dinner for him?"

"Hey Dill." Chad said as he saw Dylan sitting on the couch in the living room. "Somethin buggin you, kiddo?"

Dylan's head shot up as he looked at his dad. "No. No, I'm fine." he lied.

"Really? Cause you seem a little off." Chad noticed.

"Guess I'm just a little distracted." Dylan admitted. And that was all he was going to admit to.

"You're never distracted when it comes to school. And trust me, I've seen your grades." Chad said.

"So?" Dylan asked.

Chad thought for a minute. What always got him ticked when he was Dylan's age? He looked towards the dining room and could see Taylor cleaning up a minor spill from Cheryl's cup. Chad smiled as he watched. Wait a minute.... He slowly turned his head back to Dylan. "Dylan, are you having girl problems?" he asked.

"Who, me?" he asked nervously. "No, of course not. I don't get crushes remember?"

"There's a first time for everything." Chad replied. "So, you got your eye on a cute girl, huh?"

Dylan chuckled as Chad playfully hit him in the arm. "Well...maybe just a little..." he confessed sheepishly.

And now Chad was lost. He was going to need backup. His head spun back to the dining room. "Taylor! We got a situation in here?"

Taylor sighed as she walked over to the doorway. "What is it?" she asked.

"Dylan's having girl trouble." Chad answered, pointing to his son.

"Don't look at me. That's your territory." Taylor shook her head. "Just don't convince him that the way to a girl's heart is always getting in trouble." She walked back to the table.

Chad sighed and blew some hair out of his face. So much for backup. "Well looks like it's just us guys in here." he muttered. He looked back at Dylan. "So...you got your eye on a girl, huh?"

"Dad..." Dylan sighed.

"Hey, I'm not gonna make _that_ big a deal out of it." Chad shrugged. "But she must be something special if she's your first crush. You know her?"

"Not directly." he shook his head. "She's just a classmate. And I don't even think she knows I exist."

"Well what's she like?" Chad wondered.

"Pretty. Smart. Creative. Well-rounded. Friendly." Dylan answered, smiling just thinking about her. But he snapped out of his thoughts and sighed. "But she doesn't even know I exist."

"How do you know that?" Chad asked.

"I've got like one class with her. And we've never talked." Dylan answered in fragments.

"Well you gotta make your move. And the first move would be to talk to her." Chad said.

"Haven't you ever gotten nervous around girls?" Dylan asked.

"Who, me?" Chad chuckled. "Nah, never."

"So what happened when you first liked a girl?" Dylan wondered.

Chad chuckled again as he remembered his first crush. "It took me a long time to ask her out. And the only reason I didn't make my move sonner was cause my friends would never approve of her. She was practically my opposite in every way. But you know something? That didn't matter. I shouldn't have cared what other people thought. Cause I was finally able to ask her out when my best friend was able to admit he liked a 'math freak' and if he could live with it, then I knew I could. So I spun her around to me as soon as I saw her in the gym and asked her out. And she said yes."

"You weren't scared?" Dylan asked doubtfully.

"Dill, the only thing to be scared of is rejection. But there's always gonna be something like that to deal with." Chad explained. "But that's the problem. If you don't put yourself out there then it'll hurt more if you see the girl you like with another guy and know you missed your chance. I had to learn that the hard way."

"So how did that work out?" Dylan cocked his head curiously. Chad smiled at his son and answered as he looked back towards the dining room. "How do you think?"

---

"Ok Dylan, you can do it. Just focus." Dylan kept saying to himself before homeroom the next day. "Talk to her. Talk to the girl. Don't freak out." He gulped and slowly walked to first period, which was the only class he had with Kiara. He was hoping to impress her and that his dad's advice would come through. And hey, if it did then it would be a new record. Twice in one year. The first time being with what kind of car to get...which Dylan still didn't get yet, but at least he knew which car he was going to get.

Taking one more deep breath, Dylan walked into homeroom and looked around the room. He spotted Kiara at her desk getting a few books out. He tried to fight his nerves and will himself to take steps forward and walk over to her. As soon as he managed to do that, he opened his mouth to speak.

"G-g-good morning." he stammered.

She looked up at him with her hazel eyes, about the same shade as his. "Hey." she greeted with a smile.

"Um...I was wondering if you...did the homework last night..." he continued nervously. Dang, why did he just say that? It was so stupid!

"Yeah. It was pretty easy, don't you think?" Kiara asked politely.

"Oh yeah, totally easy." Dylan nodded. Well, he thought a few of the questions were a little hard, but he wasn't going to admit to that. "So uh...how bout that test last week?"

"I did pretty well..." she nodded. "And yourself?"

"Beautiful." Dylan blurt out. He quickly covered his mouth. He was supposed to be talking about the test, not her!

"Yeah, it really was a looker." Kiara giggled. "You're pretty funny."

"No, I didn't mean it like..." Dylan started. He cut himself off when he overheard her. "Really? I'm funny?"

"Yeah. Maybe if I compliment the test on its looks I'll ace it next time." she stated. "So, did you hear about that new lunch special?"

Oh man, not the lunch menu! Dylan hated the food there so much. Well, most days anyway. Thursdays was the only day he'd ever eat some of the school's food. But it made him sick to his stomach just thinking about the new daily special. "N-n-new lunch special?"

"Yeah. It's supposed to be some odd leftover meatloaf or something." Kiara nodded.

"Oh well, I think..." he stammered. He opened his mouth to say more but no words came out. "I think..." Still nothing. "I..." Dylan didn't know what came over him. But the more he thought about the food, the sicker he felt. That, and maybe it was the nerves returning to him. after all, when has he really talked to a girl like this before? He desperately wanted to say something else, but as soon as he opened his mouth to speak up again...

Kiara covered her mouth as she watched Dylan's reaction. Other students in the room turned their heads when they heard Dylan groan. That's when the teacher walked in.

"What in sam hill is going on here?" he demanded.

"Dylan just barfed all over the floor!" one of the students exclaimed.

The teacher sighed. "Dylan, nurse's office. Now." he demanded.

Dylan's face turned deep red. He never felt so humiliated in his entire life. He just wrecked his chance with his first crush. So much for everything working out. Trying to hide his face in shame, he turned around and sped out of the classroom.

---

"I think I can get used to this alone time." Chad smiled that afternoon as he sat on the couch with his arm around Taylor.

"Yeah, well enjoy it while it lasts, tough guy." Taylor teased with a smile. "This is one of the only two days we're both off, you know."

"All the more reason to enjoy it." Chad grinned. He leaned in to kiss Taylor until she held a hand in front of his face.

"Don't get carried away yet." she giggled. "We still have to pick up Cheryl from the bus stop in a half hour."

"She's in elementary school, Tay. She'll get off with the other kids." Chad assured her.

"Tell me that again when she starts middle school." Taylor said. "Remember, it's your turn to get her today."

"I know. I will." Chad promised. "So are you gonna leave me hanging forever?"

Taylor smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright." She kissed him and he returned it. Taylor pulled away and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I'm gonna get something more than that tonight, right?" Chad asked hopefully.

"Maybe." Taylor teased. She snuggled closer to him and decided to change the subject. "So what were you and Dylan talking about last night?"

"Girl problems." Chad smiled.

"Girl problems?" she repeated, cocking an eyebrow. "Since when does Dylan worry about dating?"

"Since yesterday, apparently." Chad shrugged. "I think Dill's got his first crush."

"Aw, he does?" Taylor cooed. "Out little guy's growing up."

"Trust me, he's way past growing up. He's almost taller than you." Chad chuckled. "But if I do say so myself, I think he'll come home with a big grin on his face soon saying how he won the girl over."

And less than two minutes later, Dylan stormed into the house. "I can't believe I made a fool of myself in front of her!" he exclaimed.

Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked at Chad. Chad just froze in his place and blinked. "That's not what I was expecting." He straightened himself up in his seat and turned swiftly to Dylan, remaining on the couch. "What happened? You were so determined yesterday."

"Define determined." Dill replied coolly.

"Well it's an adjective with an origin from-" Taylor started.

"I'm not talking literally, Mom. "Dylan moaned.

"Slow down, kiddo. What happened?" Chad asked.

"What happened? What happened?" Dylan repeated. "I made a fool of myself, that's what happened!"

Taylor and Chad exchanged glances, then turned back to their son. "Care to expand?" Taylor inquired.

"How does throwing up right in front of her sound?" Dylan replied.

Taylor covered her mouth and Chad's eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of his face. "Dill, what happened?" Chad gasped.

"Things were goin just fine till we started talking about the food at school. It made me so sick I threw up right in front of her! Been avoiding her all day since." Dylan pouted. He sat down on one of the schools at the kitchen counter and folded his arms.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad..." Taylor tried to reassure him.

"Trust me, it was." Dylan replied. "How am I ever gonna impress Kiara now?"

"Dylan, sometimes you don't need to do anything to impress a girl." Taylor shook her head.

"No, I need to do something." Dylan said. "But even if I do, she'll want nothing to do with me. She'll think I'm a freak."

Taylor looked at Chad. "What did you tell him last night?"

"I told him that if he doesn't talk to her, he'll never know what she thinks." Chad shrugged. "What did I do wrong this time?"

"Nothing." Taylor answered, as much as she hated to admit it. But she quickly added, "Yet. You will be doing something wrong if you're late for getting Cheryl off that bus."

"I'll make a run for it." Chad nodded as he jumped off the couch and ran out the front door.

"Why the school's food?" Dylan moaned. "Why couldn't she bring up something else?"

"You're making too big a deal out of it. There's no way she could ever think something was wrong with you." Taylor promised.

"You're a mom. You have to sound positive." Dylan sighed.

"Yeah, well try and sound more positive when you answer the door." Taylor said when she heard a knock. "Go on, maybe it's one of your friends."

"No offense, but you're not helping." Dylan sighed as he pushed himself off the stool. He walked over to the door and opened it. He blinked in surprise, feeling the nerves come back to him. "K-K-Kiara, what are you doing here?"

She smiled faintly and moved some bangs out of her face. "Hi..." she replied quietly. "I...I just came by to see if you were ok. You seemed kind of pale before."

"Oh...um, yeah.... Yeah, I'm fine..." Dylan stammered.

Taylor took this as her cue to leave the two alone. "You know, I think I left some dishes in the dining room from lunch. I'm going to go take care of that..." she said as she disappeared out of the room.

Dylan rubbed the back of his head and kept his eyes on Kiara...when he wasn't looking at his feet.

"So..are you sure you're ok?" Kiara wondered.

"Yeah. Yeah." Dylan nodded. "Thanks for checking."

"Oh, it's no problem." Kiara said quickly. "If you need anything else you can always tell me.... If you want to."

"Yeah...I'd kinda like that. I mean, really like that." Dylan smiled nervously. "Hey um...maybe, you know, if you wanted to...maybe we could...get together...and do some homework...?"

"That sounds really nice." she smiled. "We don't even need to get any food from the school's cafeteria."

Dylan chuckled. "You're gonna haunt me with that forever, aren't you?" he guessed.

"Yeah, probably." she giggled.

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "You're pretty funny yourself. Maybe we could...go out sometime? Just the two of us?"

Kiara acted like she was thinking about it for a minute, swaying her body back and forth. "Would next Friday night be cool?"

"I think so. I could...call you sometime?" he suggested, the nerves almost completely exiting.

"Sounds great." Kiara nodded with a smile. "So...I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Definitely." Dylan grinned widely.

Kiara looked down at her feet and smiled. "Well...bye then..." She looked up once more and then quickly waved goody-bye before walking away.

Dylan just smiled as he leaned up against the doorway and watched her leave. For a minute he was just lost in his daydreams thinking about his first date. Until....

"Dill's got a girlfriend! Dill's got a girlfriend!" Cheryl laughed as she jumped up to the house, giggling as she pointed at him.

Dylan's mouth dropped, "She is not my girlfriend! I mean...not yet! I mean...just be quiet! Who asked you?" He started chasing her into the living room and up the stairs.

Chad raised an eyebrow as he walked in with Cheryl's backpack. He put it down and closed the door behind him, then turned to Taylor as she walked in from the dining room. "Did I miss something?" he wondered.

"Well, not that I was eavesdropping or anything..." Taylor replied innocently, "but I might have overheard a few things..."

"Like?" he raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Like how Dylan might be planning a date with his crush girl!" Taylor couldn't help but exclaimed. "Chad, I don't know what you told him last night, but you'd better give him another pep talk before he goes on that first date!"

Cahd grinned widely and hugged her. "Trust me, I'm gonna give him all the guy advice he's ever gonna need! Looks like he's on his way to that dream girl." He pulled away from Taylor and smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Looks like he finally got the girl. Pretty soon he'll be seeing them all over college and dating even more, then going off and getting married and raising his own girls."

"One step at a time Chad." Taylor giggled, resting her head back on his shoulder. "Besides if he can handle a girl like you can, he'll be just fine."

* * *

How was it? I spent all afternoon after school working on this so I hope it turned out decently. Now it'll only be a matter of time before Dylan takes the girl home...wait a minute, am I gonna have to write a chapter bout that, too? XD Thanks again for the suggestion, RamandusDaughter23, I hope it turned out well. If anyone else has any other suggestions I'm happy to hear them. Besides, what if I write a chapter no one likes? What fun is it to read something you hate? Power to the readers, right? ^^ And now I am off to eat some dinner cause all this writing really works up an appetite! XD


	8. Chapter Eight

How is everyone today? ^^ Personally, I hate driving in the snow. And it's really hard to get the car out when it's stuck between snow almost completely around. For those of you who live somewhere where they don't get snow, like Florida or Hawaii, or [insert other places that are too warm to get snow here] the be happy. Anyway, I'm happy with how the last chapter went over and I'm glad everyone who read it enjoyed it. C= If you have more suggestions feel free to suggest them! Speaking of suggestions, I did manage to get another one. I promise, it will come in due time. Did I say that right, or did I mix it up somehow? o_0 Ah well. Anyway, I need to ask for some assistance here; I'm thinking of introducing a new character. Now you may be asking, who is it? A puppy? A new friend? A parent? Who knows but me. 0=) So all I ask is what the character should be: male or female? Other than that, I ain't giving anything away. But don't worry, you will know who the new character is when it's revealed. But not now, I;m asking for a future chapter. So, if you may offer your opinions, please? =3  
Disclaimer: Yeah, I wish.  
_Chapter Eight Summary: A little less than a year since Kelsi and Ryan had their baby. They're invited to eat out with their friends while all the kids keep an eye on the baby. In the meantime, it starts to make Cheryl wonder what Dylan was like as a baby. And Zeke starts to wonder when it'll be his turn to become a father.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
**

"Are you sure they're going to be ok?" Kelsi asked as she sat in the van with her friends and husband on the way to the restaurant. "Maybe we should turn back around..."

"Kelsi, relax." Sharpay rolled her eyes. "He'll be fine. It's not like he'll be crying for his mom all the time like Ryan was when he was a baby."

"Uh...Shar?" Ryan spoke, raising a finger. "You don't remember that. And when we got older you were always the one crying to Dad."

"Busted." Chad chuckled.

Sharpay sent him a death glare and pointed at him. "You'd better keep your mouth shut." she warned him. She turned back to her brother in the other seat, "And you, never downgrade me like that."

Ryan blinked. "I...I wasn't."

"Maybe we should go back." Gabriella agreed from the back seat where she, Troy, Chad, and Taylor were squeezed. "And get a sitter for the kids."

"Relax guys." Zeke sighed. "Dylan's watching all of them. And Gina's an expert with the babies after being raised with three younger siblings. She can handle all the diaper stuff."

"He's got a point. When she was four and we were still trying to get Corrie to switch from diapers to pull-ups, she changed her sister's diaper in under five minutes." Troy couldn't help but show off.

"Troy, you know how long she was watching me the whole time I did it all." Gabriella stated.

"Yeah well...she picked up really fast." Troy replied.

"Oh no, what if they run out of diapers!" Kelsi exclaimed. "Zeke turn this van around. I wanna bring Travis home."

"The only place we're going to is dinner." Zeke said calmly. They had been planning this a long time, too; since Kelsi first had Travis. But now he was almost a year old and Kelsi was still being a worried mother. And how could they get together like old times if they had all the kids with them? Save it for birthday parties.

"But what about Travis?" Kelsi begged.

"Kels, calm down." Ryan said as he rubbed Kelsi's shoulders. "He'll be fine. He's with a bunch of responsible kids. We'll be back to get him in a few hours, he's going to be fine."

Kelsi sighed. "Can we at least call them during dinner to check up on them all?"

"After we order dinner and before we leave." Ryan promised.

"Yeah. Besides, it's not like they're gonna trash the house." Chad joked.

Zeke stopped at a red light and he joined the others in staring at Chad. As usual, his jokes weren't helping. Especially not Kelsi.

"Zeke, turn around!" she begged.

"How about I just throw Chad out of the car?" Zeke suggested.

The entire group, aside from Chad, exchanged glances and shrugged. "Works for us."

"Wait...what?" Chad gasped.

-RK-RK-RK-RK-RK-

Corrie cocked her head as she looked into the crib at her house while the baby was sleeping. Gina was beside her, looking over her shoulder, while Dylan was upstairs with the other kids. The girls just stared down at the baby and watched him move his arms and legs a little.

"He doesn't do much." Corrie noticed.

"Well...he's a baby. What's he supposed to do?" Gina wondered.

"I dunno." Corrie shrugged. "Stuff?"

"Hey girls." Dylan greeted as he came downstairs. "How's Travis doing?"

"He's fine." Gina replied, admiring the baby.

Dylan looked over Gina's shoulder to see the latest addition to the extended family. Travis was so much like both of his parents. He had Ryan's hair and face, and Kelsi's eyes and smile. He seemed like a rather happy infant.

"You'll call me down if there's any problems, right?" Dylan wondered.

"Not unless it's diaper changing." Corrie giggled, remembering the story she was told of when Dylan first attempted to babysit Cheryl.

"Uh-huh..." Dylan nodded slowly. That was something that would probably haunt him for a long time. The seventeen-year-old headed back upstairs to the three remaining children. Timothy and Cheryl were playing a board game and Justina was flipping through channels. Justina turned her head as soon as she saw Dylan come back in.

"My turn to help Gina watch Travis?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure." Dylan nodded with a smile. "Get Corrie to come up here."

"Oh man," Cheryl sighed. "Now we're gonna hafta start a new game and set everythin up all over again."

"Quick, let's finish before Corrie gets here!" Timothy gasped as they raced to finish their current game.

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle. Even though Corrie, Timothy, and Cheryl were best friends, there were times when only two of them would want to play together instead of all three. They were already like their own little group even though Tim was the oldest by two years. He was the down-to-Earth one, Cheryl was the troublemaker, and Corrie was...well, maybe just a little clueless sometimes. But she'd catch on eventually.

"Dylan, can you fix Travis a bottle?" Gina called from downstairs a minute later. "I think he's hungry!"

"I'll be right down." Dylan called back. He waited until Corrie got upstairs, then he pointed at the three. "Play nice you guys."

"Do we hafta?" Cheryl moaned.

"Not unless you want me to tell Mom and Dad you've been a bad girl." Dylan replied. "You may not get to play with your basketball this week..."

Cheryl pouted and folded her arms.

Timothy chuckled. "Somebody's in trouble."

"Yeah, somebody's in trouble." Corrie repeated with a giggle.

Dylan just shook his head at the kids and made his way downstairs. He had to hurry and work on that bottle, or else when everyone called to check on them later someone was going to be very cranky.

-TG-TG-TG-TG-TG-

"Maybe we should call them now..." Kelsi started less than ten minutes after the adults sat down at their assigned table.

"We are not calling them until after we order dinner and that's final." Sharpay insisted as she folded her arms. "Kelsi, stop being such a worry-wart. Travis is in good hands. Do you honestly think I'd leave my nephew with irresponsible children?"

The group slowly looked at each other, not sure how to answer that. Gabriella decided to break the awkward silence a minute later.

"So, did you finally rearrange the house the way you guys wanted?" she asked Kelsi and Ryan, remembering how just months before Travis was born they had found a house just outside of Albuquerque that they decided to settle down in.

"Yeah." Ryan nodded. "Three bedrooms, one for me and Kelsi, one for Travis, and a guest bedroom; a living room and dining room; a kitchen with a view of the backyard; a basement, a study that we've almost completely converted into a small music room, and possibly a porch in the front or back in a couple of years."

"That's really great guys. You settled down fast." Troy stated.

"We had everything planned. What can we say?" Ryan shrugged innocently.

"And you previous job at East High?" Taylor inquired.

"Back in action." Ryan grinned. "And the online hat store, still wide opened for customers."

"Typical." Sharpay had to roll her eyes. "But don't come crying to me when you decide you want to open a real store and need the money for it."

"I won't Sharpay." Ryan sighed.

"Kelsi, what about you?" Gabriella wondered. "How's the new job?"

"Travis is fine." she answered right away, thinking they were still talking about the eleven month old. She rubbed her forehead, knowing her head still wasn't with her friends. "I mean..."

"It's ok, Kelsi." Gabriella promised, rubbing her friend's shoulder. "You just can't watch him forever. He has to grow and develop into his own."

"This comin from the woman who took longer than anyone else to wean her kids off of breast milk?" Chad muttered, fooling around with his glass of water.

As usual, Taylor hit Chad on the arm when he made a comment like that.

"Hey!" Gabriella gasped.

Kelsi giggled faintly. "I'm fine, really. And I know Travis is, too. But to leave him on his own for three whole hours..."

"He'll be sleeping soundly when we go to pick him up." Ryan finished calmly. He snapped his fingers as though he had just remembered something. "By the way, one of your co-workers left a message the other day. They want you to bring Travis into work again. The girls are just falling all over him."

"And where is this work of which you speak?" Gabriella asked with a smile.

"Senior's center." Ryan answered for his wife. "Kelsi gets to play the piano for the senior citizens while they eat or do certain activities. They think she's a doll."

"Well of course she is." Sharpay shrugged. "Why else would she have worked the piano at Lava Springs Country Club that summer in high school?"

Ryan opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it. "Never mind." he decided against the counter.

"Ok, enoguh worrying about babies." Chad said. "Can we eat?"

"Yeah, and call the kids while we're at it?" Kelsi asked hopefully.

"Can we please not think about babies or the kids for five minutes?" Troy asked. "We're here to have fun like we used to while the kids have fun with each other. And come on, when was the last time we were a group like this?" He smiled and clapped his hands together. "So, let's see what we can get here."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Troy and picked up their menus. But Zeke didn't do so right away. He just kept tapping his finger against the table. He took a deep breath, wanting to get this over with. He had to talk to Sharpay about it while the subject was still open for discussion.

"So Sharpay...um, I kind of need to talk to you about something...about kids..." Zeke started nervously. Well can you blame him? He was afraid of her reaction to the idea.

Sharpay just held up a hand as she continued scanning through the menu. "We're going to call the kids later, Zeke. Stop worrying, you'll sound just like Kelsi."

"Sharpay, I don't mean _the_ kids. I'm talking about hav-" Zeke started again.

"Talk to me later when we're home for the night." Sharpay interrupted again. Her eyes lit up at one of the dishes. "Oooh, caviar on the side of a Caesar salad...."

-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-

Dylan yawned as he let himself fall down onto the couch in the living room. He moved some hair out of his face, glad that after all the struggling they went through to get Travis to eat something he finally took his bottle. And then Gina had to change his diaper for the third time that night. But at least aside from that he was an easier load. Hardly at all that night did he hear Travis crying or see him give anyone a hard time. He was pretty well-mannered for a baby. Dylan wondered how long that would last.

"Tired?" Cheryl asked as she came up to her brother.

Dylan picked up his head and looked at her. "Not that tired." he shook his head. "Just a little whipped, I guess. Especially after going in at six-thirty instead of seven-thirty for that extra help session to ace my history exam."

"You never fail. Least, no one ever says." she shook her head.

"Yeah well, just making sure this time. It was a hard test, too." Dylan admitted. "Where's everyone else?"

"Justy's tryin to learn to read more from Gina." Cheryl answered, jumping onto the couch. "And Corrie fell asleep on her bed so Timmy's goin through her stuff."

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "What's he doing that for?"

"He said she stole his ken doll from him again." Cheryl shrugged.

Dylan sighed. He really was too tired to deal with this. After all, he hadn't watched all the kids at once. They had worn him out. "You know what, let his parents deal with it later." he decided. "I'm not getting involved in any sibling rivalry tonight again."

"What bout when Justy and Corrie started fighting over the last cookie after dinner?" Cheryl cocked her head.

"It was easy. Just split it in half for the two of them to share." he shrugged. "How come you're not tired?"

"I dunno." she replied. "But Travis is sleepin, too. So it's only us and Justy and Timmy and Gina that are up. When do we go home?"

Dylan looked up at the clock on one of the walls. "Everyone should be coming back here in less than an hour." he answered, remembering the call from fifteen minutes or so ago, just before Travis had most likely fallen asleep. "I think Kelsi calmed down a little after that first call before, cause she wanted to talk to Travis."

"But he can't talk." Cheryl said.

"I know." Dill nodded. "But at least he said, 'boo'. That's something, so I say we take it while we can."

Cheryl just shrugged as she sat down on the couch and swung her legs back and forth. "Were you ever that much trouble?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, picking his head up slightly.

"Were you ever a bad baby?" Cheryl replied.

Dylan paused for a minute. He had never told Cheryl that he was adopted, even though his parents promised they'd still be a family no matter what. So if Dylan could barely even remember what he was like when he was three, how was he supposed to tell her that he was pretty much on his own when he was a baby, from what he knew?

"I don't remember." he answered, which wasn't a total lie.

"So you never gave Mom and Dad a hard time?" Cheryl asked.

"I don't know." he shook his head quickly. "Let's talk about something else."

"But I wanna know." Cheryl moaned.

"You'll know later."

"When's that?"

"Later."

"When's later?"

"Just later!"

Cheryl made a pouting face again and Dylan fell back to lay down on the couch. He rubbed his head, but it didn't last more than two minutes.

"We're home." Troy whispered as he walked in. "Who's asleep?"

Dylan picked his head up just an inch or so to see Troy. "Apparently Travis and Corrie are." he replied. "Everyone else is wide awake."

"They weren't any trouble, right?" Troy asked.

Dylan just smiled and shook his head. "Nah. Gina took care of all the diaper changing. I was just the entertainment and cook for the night." He turned his head to the other adults, mainly Zeke, when they walked in. "Too bad I can't compare to Mr. Zekery over there." he joked.

"Very funny." Zeke muttered, most likely still not in the best mood. He took off his coat and went out of the room right away; pretty much everyone just assumed he was going to the bathroom.

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "What's eating him?"

"He's mad that his bakery might actually have some competition with the restaurant we ate at." Chad replied.

Taylor rolled her eyes and hit his arm again. "That's not true and you know it." Besides, knowing Zeke it was probably something to make much a bigger deal out of.

"How was Travis?" Kelsi asked right away as soon as she got a turn to speak.

"He was fine the whole time." Dylan promised. "He should be asleep in the crib in the other room."

"Thanks Dill." Kelsi smiled thankfully, then left the living room.

Ryan nodded in agreement and turned to Troy and Gabriella. "Thanks for keeping one of the cribs around here. Never thought we'd need a spare one."

"It's fine, Ry. No big deal." Troy promised. "If you've got any problems with the crib at home, you can have this one."

"Or even if you want to drop Travis off here or when you come to visit, it'll be there for him." Gabriella added.

Ryan smiled and nodded again. "Thanks guys."

Troy shrugged and grinned, "Always here to help a friend."

"You guys can have your mushy friend time later." Chad joked as he picked up Cheryl. "We're gonna head out for the night."

"Already, man?" Troy asked.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "Dill's exhausted and Cheryl should get to bed soon anyway."

"But I'm not tired." Cheryl sighed.

"She says that now." Taylor muttered as she helped Dylan off the couch.

"You sure you're not the one who's tired?" Chad teased.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes. "We'll be waiting in the car." she said as she and Dylan walked out of the house, after saying a quick good night to everyone else of course.

"And that would be your cue to leave before your head gets shaved, huh?" Ryan made a joke of his own. He tried getting Troy and Gabriella to laugh, but neither even let out a giggle. Neither did Cheryl.

Chad just shook his head as he pat Ryan on the shoulder before walking out. "Not funny man."

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"You should really get to bed if you're so tired." Taylor suggested to Dylan as the four of them walked into the house.

"I will soon." Dylan promised.

Chad raised an eyebrow. Something just didn't sound completely right about that response. "You sure you're not just tired?" he asked.

"Yeah." Dylan nodded after almost a minute. "I'm good."

"Cept he wouldn't tell me bout when he was a baby." Cheryl complained, folding her arms.

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances. They looked at Dylan, and were able to judge from his expression that Cheryl's complaint was his reason for being more than just tired.

"Um, I'll go put Cheryl in her room. I'll be right down." Taylor decided, knowing it would just have to be the three of them talking. She picked up her daughter and headed upstairs.

Chad nodded and turned to Dylan. "What happened tonight?"

"Nothing." Dylan lied.

"Ok, don't pull that on me." Chad shook his head. "You know better than that."

"Dad, not now. I don't want Cheryl to hear." Dylan sighed.

"She won't." Chad promised.

"Ok, Cheryl is upstairs changing, I told her we'd be back up in ten minutes." Taylor said quickly as she walked downstairs. she turned to Dylan. "So start talking."

"It's nothing to worry about." Dylan tried lying again.

"You can't pull that off anymore. We know something's up and you're gonna tell us one way or another." Chad insisted.

"Can we just drop it?" Dylan asked. He didn't feel like talking anymore.

Taylor folded her arms. "Dylan McKessie-Danforth, do not make me pull out the middle name."

Dylan gulped. He did not want to hear that. His parents hardly ever used his last name let alone his middle one. So he knew he was in trouble if he didn't talk. He sighed reluctantly and faced the two of them. "Cheryl asked me how I was when I was a baby. She wanted to know what you guys thought."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "Dill, is that all?" he asked. "You can tell her, you know."

"But she doesn't know." Dylan sighed. "She doesn't know I'm not really her brother. What am I supposed to tell her?"

"It doesn't matter what you say." Taylor shook her head. "What matters is that she knows whether you're related or not you're always there for each other. If Cheryl knows that then it won't matter if you're adopted or not. Don't worry about what people think of you otherwise."

Chad nodded in agreement. "And you're gonna have to tell her sometime."

"I know." Dylan reluctantly realized. "But I'm not ready to tell her."

"Then tell her when you are ready. At least try before you start college?" Taylor suggested.

"Ok." Dylan compromised.

"You should get to bed." Chad said, disrupting the odd silence. "Get a good night's sleep ok?"

"Yeah." Dylan nodded. He gave them each a quick hug and then headed upstairs.

Meanwhile Sharpay and Zeke walked into their own house. Sharpay had been nagging him almost the entire ride home, and Zeke was getting tired of it. He had no idea how much longer he could hold it in.

"Will you stop jumping down my throat?" Zeke sighed.

"No I will not!" Sharpay insisted. "You kept trying to bring up the kids which made Kelsi constantly worry about Travis. We were trying to avoid talking about the kids unless it was about asking them how they were doing or something. Can't you take a hint?"

"Why can't you take a hint?" Zeke gasped. "Sharpay, do you know what I've been trying to ask you all night?"

"What, you want to babysit them next time or something?" she assumed.

"No, I wanted to know when it's our turn!" Zeke replied.

"Our turn for what?" Sharpay questioned.

"When it's our turn to have kids!" he blurt out.

Sharpay's jaw dropped. Did she just hear him right? He was asking her about kids? As in, kids of their own? as in her getting pregnant?

"Are you as nuts as your coconut cream creme brulée?" she exclaimed, practically throwing her arms in the air. "Why on earth would we have kids?"

"So we're just supposed to grow up together in a lonely house?" Zeke asked doubtfully. "I've always wanted kids, at least one! I wouldn't even care if they got sick or something or didn't have their legs! Any one kid I'd be happy with. Why can't you understand that?"

"Why have kids at all, Zeke?" she demanded. "Isn't a nephew enough?"

"But he's never going to be my kid." Zeke replied. "Don't you want an heir or heiress of your own, to someday take over everything you've known if they grow up to be just like you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Shrapay lied, shaking her head.

"Sharpay, I love you and I don't know what I'd do without you. But what if something ever happens to you? The closest thing I'll have left is your favorite dessert dish, your brother, and his family." Zeke insisted. "How would you feel if you were me?"

"I'd get a new wardrobe." she muttered.

Zeke shook his head. "I can't believe you." He started storming up to his room.

Sharpay pushed some hair away from her face and sighed heavily. As much as she hated to admit it, she could understand where Zeke was coming from. And she got angry enough times as it was; it was time to start calming down and talk like a real family...or a real dysfunctional one.

"Zeke wait." she forced out.

Zeke sighed and turned to his wife.

"I just don't want to be fat." Sharpay confessed.

"Having a baby won't make you fat. It'll just give you a little extra weight and bigger belly for nine months." he replied.

"That makes me feel so much better." Sharpay said sarcastically.

"So you wouldn't go through nine months of losing your figure for a lifetime of happiness for both of us?" he asked doubtfully.

"Ok, so it's selfish, I know." Sharpay moaned. "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Not entirely." Zeke shook his head. He folded his arms and looked away, then turned his head back to Sharpay less than a minute later and smiled. "But it helps."

Sharpay sighed with relief. She knew what it was like to have so many people hate her growing up, even if it didn't bother her as much as it would now. "I'm not ready to think about going through that and everything that comes with it." she explained. "Maybe we can talk about it some other time."

"So, the child card isn't off the table?" he wondered.

"Not completely." Sharpay gave in, shaking her head. "But I'm willing to go through it if you're willing to deal with everything that comes with it."

Zeke smiled and nodded. It started off rocky, but it turned out so much better than he thought. Maybe he couldn't have even picked a better night to do it. He just thought about his friends and how happy they were with their kids. And Zeke loved them all like family, but not his own. An extended family, or cousins, or something along those lines more likely, but not that they'd ever be his own kids. But they were still like family to him, and that'd make Zeke happy until he could have a child of his own. Biologically or maybe even adoptive. But that could all be talked about later.

"I'm in a hundred and ten percent." he smiled.

* * *

So how was it? Sorry, I know that question much be getting old by now. XD This wasn't my favorite chapter, but maybe because there wasn't much C&T in there. hey, not my fault I love em so much. =P But I said they wouldn't be the only couple in these oneshots so that's why I mixed it up here. Maybe the chapter also seemed better in my head till I typed it. XD And sorry for not naming this chapter, I kind had a writers block on a good title. -_-' So anyway, that will do it for now, but we'll see. And don't forget about your opinions. New character - male or female? You decide and I'll see which one wins (with more votes of course). And as far as making suggestions for oneshots you'd like to see here, feel free to share them! ^^ This should all do it for now, so this is my cue to shut up.


	9. Party Problems

I decided to really shorten up the author's notes here, maybe only put a couple of lines at the beginning and end tops. I don't think anyone reads them (or for the most part). Not sure bout the chapter summaries though. o_0 Anyway, here's the next chapter. I am really getting into these, I've gotta quit writing so much before becoming entirely addicted.  
Disclaimer: Do we all need to put these here? 0-0  
_Chapter Nine Summary: Cheryl's going to be turning six soon. She wants to have the best party out of everyone in kindergarten. Can her parents give her that party and or will they actually fail? However Chad might have to work it alone with Taylor feeling under the weather.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Nine: Party Problems  
**

"Tay, time to get up." Chad said, gently rubbing his wife as she rested under the blankets.

"Just a little longer." she moaned, her head dug into a pillow. "I'm too tired to get up."

"Tay, we've got a lot of planning to do today. Cherry's never gonna hear the end of it if we don't help her plan that 'perfect party' she wants so much." Chad said.

"You know I've been off for the past week, Chad." Taylor yawned.

"So you're a little sick, I get it." Chad said. "What did you catch anyway?"

Taylor slowly poked her head out from under the blankets and looked at him slightly. "Some stomach virus, I think. There was something going around lately."

"All I'm asking is to get up for a little while. Just a while." Chad said. "You can't lay in bed all day."

"You're right, I can't." Taylor agreed. She pushed herself out of bed and headed to the hallway. "I have to get up to use the bathroom."

"Tay..." Chad started as he followed her. He waited outside the bathroom door, sitting as quietly as he could. Chad sighed, wondering why it had to be now of all times for her to get sick. "You want me to make you a doctor's appointment?"

He heard the sound of the toilet flushing, then Taylor's quiet response. "No, I'll be alright. It just needs to pass is all."

"Are you sure?" Chad asked. He nearly jumped back after a minute or so of waiting for the answer when the door opened.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Taylor nodded, moving some hair out of her face. "Maybe I just need a distraction."

"Ok, so how about you get some cold water and saltine crackers, spend just a little while helping to plan Cheryl's party and then you can go back to sleep all you want?" he suggested.

"Well you can't do it on your own." Taylor shook her head.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Chad whined.

"Ok, I'm sorry." Taylor replied sweetly.

Chad smiled expectantly, but his face fell when there was no other response. "This is the part where you add a kiss to the apology, remember?"

"Chad, my lunch from yesterday was just making a return appearance in the toilet. I have bad breath from that. And do you really want to risk catching what I have?" Taylor replied.

"I'll take my chances." Chad replied as he put an arm around her and gave her a quick yet gentle kiss. "C'mon, the kids haven't gotten sick yet. What do I have to worry about?"

"Just don't jinx it, ok?" Taylor asked, cocking her head slightly.

"Promise." Chad nodded as he lead her downstairs.

"Mom, Dad, hurry!" Cheryl called eagerly from the couch as she saw them come down. "We got a ton of planning to do!"

"It's just one party, Cherry." Chad said as he playfully rustled her hair before sitting down with Taylor by his side.

"It's not just a party, Daddy." Cheryl shook her head. "Dante Higgins had one of the popularist parties in my whole class. It's gotta be big."

"Since when is one party the thing that decides a kid's popularity?" Chad chuckled.

"Apparently it's big with most elementary schoolers ranging from kindergarten to grade four, sixth at the highest." Dylan stated as he walked in from the kitchen.

"Huh?" Chad asked with a perplexed look.

"I heard a couple of kids in my science class talking about some weird ongoing war between their younger siblings who are starting middle school." Dylan explained. "Something about it started with a really bad party or something."

"Well even if there is some weird party contest, you don't need to worry." Chad promised Cheryl. "Your old man was pretty cool back in his day." He smiled proudly and popped his collar.

Taylor rolled his eyes. "That didn't start until late sophomore year when you revealed to the school your real athletic skills instead of taking a back seat to Troy's skills." she informed him. "Not to mention at least seventy-five percent of the time, entrance to the jock clique equaled instant popularity."

"And thanks for downgrading my cool status in front of my kids." Chad muttered, folding his arms. "Just cause you're sick doesn't mean you have to take me down with you."

"Ok, I'm sorry." Taylor apologized again. "And I'm sorry for my future mood swings that accompany this cold or whatever I've caught."

Dylan raised an eyebrow, "You feelin ok, Mom?"

"I've felt better." Taylor sighed.

"Wait, we're still having my party this weekend right?" Cheryl asked worriedly.

"Well I'm not watching who knows how many kids alone..." Chad started.

"Twenty-two." Cheryl grinned widely.

"Twenty what?" Chad gasped.

"Twenty-two." she repeated. She shrugged innocently, "It's my entire class, not including Corrie, Justy, and Timmy."

"What, no Travis?" Chad asked sarcastically.

"What's a one-year gonna do with a bunch of six and five-years?" Cheryl asked, thinking about her friends, who happened to be Troy's and Gabriella's kids and compared them to Ryan's and Kelsi's son, who was just over a year old.

"Told you she took after you." Taylor muttered to Chad.

"Gee, thanks." he rolled his eyes. He shook his head and thought again at the real issue. "I can't handle that many kids on my own, and how am I supposed to ask Dylan to help when he's just there for his sister?"

"I can still help." Dylan offered.

"Keep outta this." Chad replied. He looked at Taylor, "If you're not up to it we can make it next weekend or something..."

"No it's fine." Taylor shook her head. "We've still got planning to do so let's just start planning and then I'll go back to bed."

"Great!" Cheryl cheered. "We gotta make it real big. With a moon bounce! And a ton of food. And a really big cherry-flavored cake! And gift bags with video games!"

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances and then looked back at Cheryl. "Ok, we need to set limits." Taylor said right away as she rubbed her head. "Can we simplify things a bit?"

"How much?" Cheryl asked.

"We can get the food and we can get a cherry flavored cake," Chad started. He quickly turned to Taylor for backup. "We can get those, right?" he checked.

"Yeah." Taylor nodded.

"We can get those." Chad repeated more confidently as he turned back to Cheryl. "But we can't put something like video games in there. Why can't we put it something more like candy and lip gloss for the girls and toy bouncy balls and finger puppets for the boys?"

"Ok those goodie bags are making me sick." Cheryl said, pretending to look like she'd throw up.

"Cherry, that's impolite." Taylor scolded. "Maybe your father can take you to the store later and see if you two can work something out."

"Ok, but what bout the moon bounce?" she moaned.

"A trampoline, maybe. But no moon bounce." Chad shook his head.

"But my party's gonna stink!" Cheryl moaned.

"Cheryl you can deal with what we can get you." It was Chad's turn to scold her. "And if you're gonna put up a fit about this then maybe we should rethink any kind of party." Cheryl gasped, but he quickly turned to Taylor. "Too harsh?" He wasn't exactly an expert on being the super tough parent.

"It was fine." Taylor said. She sighed and clutched her stomach. "Stay here, I've got a meeting with the toilet again."

Chad nodded as Taylor went back upstairs.

"What bout the party?" Cheryl repeated.

Chad moaned. How was he going to handle this? Had he spoiled her that much? Or did she take after Chad when he was her age? Chad shuddered at the thought, hoping that wasn't the case.

Dylan left his father to deal with Cheryl. The teen knew he wouldn't be much help when it came to a little girl's party...except for maybe setting everything up. He headed upstairs to check on Taylor, knowing at least for today she wouldn't be able to completely focus on helping plan for the party. Dylan stopped in front of the bathroom door and gave a single knock. "Mom, you ok in there?" he asked.

"I'll be right out." Taylor faintly moaned from inside.

Dylan raised an eyebrow as he patiently waited. She seemed rather cranky lately, and she had been throwing up for at least a week. Maybe Taylor really was sick. But what if it was something else? He looked up at her - just barely - when she came out of the bathroom after two more flushings.

"You sure you're ok? Maybe you should go back to bed." he suggested.

"I should, but I need a distraction from this thing." Taylor replied. "And some water and crackers might help, too."

"But what if it's not that easy?" Dylan asked.

"Very funny." Taylor said sarcastically.

"No, really." he replied. "What if it is something else?"

"Ok Dylan, I know you're taking Health class and learning about the things both men and women go through when they start growing..." she started.

"Well, that's not exactly what I was thinking." Dylan admitted.

"Ok so then where are you going with this?" Taylor asked, hoping it wouldn't go on much longer.

Dylan sighed, hoping it wouldn't come out the wrong way. "Mom, are you pregnant?"

"Dill, I think I would know if I was." Taylor replied. "Trust me, it's that stomach virus or whatever it is that's going around." She rubbed her head, figuring she'd deal with any family drama in a few hours.

Dylan followed her towards her bedroom. "But what about the throwing up? And the stomach pains? And the mood swings?"

"Also signs of an illness." Taylor pointed out.

"But..." he started.

"Can we talk about this later?" Taylor asked as she walked into the bedroom. "I need to go back to bed for a while." She sent him an apologetic look, then closed the door.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"You think we got enough stuff to satisfy everyone?" Chad wondered later that afternoon after he was convinced to take Cheryl out and look for party favors for everyone.

"We got tons of stuff for evry bag." she shrugged. "And I picked em all out, they should be good. I hope."

"You worry too much." Chad shook his head. He sat down on the couch and started organizing everything - to the best of his ability. "Ok so the red goody bags are for the girls and the orange for the boys. For the girls we got fun packs of m-n-m's, pink cell phones with candy, a hair scrunchy, a rubber bracelet, a panda or puppy keychain, and a mini Barbie doll from Burger King." He filled one of the bags with said items. He looked at Cheryl, who nodded to show Chad he had gotten everything right. Chad turned back to the other supplies. "And for the dudes we got some hard candy, a small pinball game from Wendy's, a fake rubber bug, a little army man, and a small bouncy ball."

"Yay, everything's not lame!" Cheryl cheered.

"Uh-huh..." Chad nodded slowly. Yup, he spoiled her too much. "Ok, so I'll head out during the week and see what kind of decorations we can get for the backyard. Then on Friday we'll go get the cake." He eyed her carefully, "That'll stay in the fridge until we bring it out for the party on Saturday."

Cheryl nodded. "Ok Dad." She gave a big smile and hugged him before skipping outside. "Thank you!"

As soon as she was out of earshot, Chad sighed and hit his head.

"You ok, Dad?" Dylan wondered as he walked in.

"Dill, I need an honest answer from you but give it to me straight and gentle." Chad said right off the bat. "Do I spoil Cheryl?"

Dylan paused for a minute to think about how to put it easiest. "If by spoil you mean spend a lot of time with her, always show her the right way to play basketball, melt every time she asks you for her favorite ice cream, and give in when she wants to stay up an extra fifteen minutes to watch her favorite show, then yes."

Chad moaned and hit his head again. He did all those things! "I'm a dead man."

"You could be deader." Dylan shrugged, trying to lift Chad's spirits. "How was it shopping with her?"

"I think I'll leave most of the shopping with Cheryl to your mother from now on." Chad admitted. "Especially with clothes, that girl dragged me through so many shirts while we were at the outlet."

"Like what, dresses and stuff?" Dylan quirked an eyebrow.

"No, boy's shirts." Chad shook his head.

Dylan blinked. "Since when does she...?"

"Don't ask. Please don't ask." Chad begged, clearly stressed. "Just tell me when raising a six-year-old got so hard."

"It's a new generation. New kids. Maybe there's more competition." Dill offered.

"That's not very encouraging." Chad shook his head.

"Sorry." Dylan apologized. "Need a snack bar?"

"Nah, I had one at the store." Chad shook his head. He saw a stare from his son and Chad automatically defended himself, "I paid for it first!" He saw Dylan nod and then Chad sighed. "Hey, how's your mom feeling?"

"She was asleep for almost two hours." Dylan answered. He was deciding against telling Chad about his theory. Besides, what proof did he really have? And there was a cold going around, after all; Dylan knew, a few kids in his class got it last week. "You sure you don't wanna switch the party to next weekend?"

"I think we can handle it." Chad nodded.

"You sure?" Dylan asked seriously.

"Ok when did you become my father?" Chad chuckled. "Calm down, kiddo. There's nothing to worry about." He pushed himself up from the couch. "I'll finish filling up the goodie bags while dinner's making later. Keep an eye on your sister?"

"Sure." Dylan nodded. He headed outside into the backyard to try and keep up with Cheryl as she started playing with the basketball again.

Chad stayed where he was for a minute and sighed. When did everything become so complicated? Hey, who was he kidding? It wouldn't be too long before Cheryl would be a teenager and then they'd have to have the talk. It was so much easier to go through with that with Dylan...but then again he was a guy. That was supposed to make it a little easier, right? Snapping out of his thoughts, Chad pushed himself off the couch and headed upstairs. He stepped cautiously into the bedroom and then sat down on the bed beside Taylor, gently rubbing her back once more. He saw her twitch a little, probably from the sudden touch while she was sleeping.

"'S just me." Chad said quietly. "Got home about ten minutes ago."

"What time is it?" Taylor asked sleepily.

"About two." Chad estimated. "How ya feeling?"

"Tired. And my stomach hurts." Taylor replied.

"Just go back to sleep then. I'm staying in the rest of the day." Chad promised. "Need anything?"

"Not right now." she managed to shake her head. "Did you get everything?"

"As far as goodie bags go, yeah." Chad nodded. "But who did she get the cross-dressing from? Cheryl was looking at a ton of guys' shirts."

"Tell me that again when I stop being sick. I'm too tired to worry." Taylor said.

"Ok." Chad nodded. "You want me to get you some water?"

"No, I'm ok." she answered with another yawn.

"Do you want some company then?" Chad wondered.

"Company would be nice." Taylor smiled.

Chad smiled and laid down beside her. He wrapped his arm around Taylor and pecked her on the head. "Night Tay."

Taylor yawned as she felt Chad nuzzle into her hair. "Night Chad."

They might as well get some sleep while they could. It was going to be a long week.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

One week later it was time to get everything set up. Well, it felt like a week to the Danforths. It had gone by so slowly. It was really just the next Saturday, as in the day of Cheryl's party. The backyard had to be set up perfectly, everyone had to get there on time, and the cake had to remain in the refrigerator or else if it was out for too long it'd melt, being an ice cream cake. So that morning, Dylan made sure to take Cheryl out and keep her occupied. Having his license, he was able to borrow Taylor's car to take Cheryl around town. That was around ten a.m. And around that time that Chad woke up. He looked around for Taylor beside him but the bed was empty. Chad got up and walked over to the bathroom door, figuring that she was in there.

"Tay?" he asked quietly, knocking on the door. "You ok in there?"

The toilet flushed and then Taylor walked out, taking a few tic-tacs to clear her breath for the time being. "Yeah, I'm ok. Just getting over the last of it."

"You sure?" Chad asked, feeling her forehead to double check.

Taylor couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure. You know I went to the bathroom a little less in the last few days. I think I'm getting over it."

"You do look like you got some color back in your face." Chad observed. "And you don't feel as warm as you look." he added with a cheesy grin.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes. "Save it for later, Chad. We've got a lot of work to do."

"But you're sure you're up for it, right?" Chad asked.

"Yeah. I'm positive." Taylor nodded. She was about to say more, but then she held up a finger. "Give me two minutes." She started heading back into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Chad asked, concerned.

"Two minutes." Taylor repeated as she ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Chad sighed, hoping that it was the last of it. He could tell Taylor was feeling a little better, but the trips to the bathroom were still just a tad frequent. He decided to head downstairs and get a plate of crackers and a glass of water set out. He looked up as he put some toast in, seeing Taylor walk into the living room. "Got it all out?"

"Yeah, I think." Taylor nodded. "I even brushed my teeth five times afterward. And after I eat something I'm brushing them five more times."

Chad had to chuckle. "You worry too much. I'm sure your breath's fine."

Taylor just shook her head. "Don't make me counter that." She picked up a cracker from the plate and took a few baby bites. "So, we'll start setting up after we eat?"

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "Streamers are in one of the drawers in the dining room, there's a few balloons that need to be blown up, the cake is in the back of the fridge, candles are in the cabinet in here..."

Taylor giggled. "You think of everything?"

"Well...almost." Chad admitted sheepishly. "Everything except how to set it all up in the back."

"How about you set up and I'll direct?" Taylor suggested.

"And then I blow up the balloons and you tie them?" Chad added with a smile.

"Only if you put up the streamers where I tell you to." Taylor finished, grinning.

"You got a deal." Chad smiled. He took a bite out of his toast and then threw it on the ground. "Ow!" he gasped. Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked at Chad, and he replied in almost a whining voice, "It was too hot."

"Oh was it?" Taylor teased. "Whatever do we do?"

"Make it un-hot?" Chad asked hopefully.

"Well...just for one minute while we have the chance." Taylor agreed. She placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed herself more up to his level, then kissed him deeply. Chad returned it and accepted rather quickly. He wrapped his arms around her and could feel her bangs brush up against his forehead. He kept one arm around her waist as he gently rubbed her back and she moved a few bangs out of his face. They remained in each others' arms for more than just a minute until they slowly pulled apart.

"Ok are you taking something I need to know about?" Chad joked with a smile. "Cause I cannot remember when the last time was we kissed like that."

Maybe in the back of her mind Taylor had an idea; but even if she were to tell Chad she wouldn't give it away so easily. "Maybe it's just been too long already."

"Well then we really should continue this later." Chad smiled, even though he was already leaning in for another kiss.

Taylor smiled and shook her head, gently placing her hand in front of him. "Later means later, Chad. We have breakfast to eat and a party to set up...we have to make sure it goes well. Whether you have a spoiled daughter or not."

"Don't you mean we?" Chad asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"She takes after you, remember? You athletic skills, your knack for getting into trouble, your loudmouth, your appetite, and your selfishness." Taylor informed him.

"Yeah but she got your looks." Chad stated. "And she's a girl like you. And she got your stubbornness."

"She got that from you too, Chad." Taylor replied. "And trust me, there's more where that came from." She stepped away and picked up her water to take a sip.

Chad tilted his head in confusion. "I don't get it. Am I missing something?"

"Maybe I can tell you later." Taylor offered. "But can we get through today first?"

"Yeah." Chad nodded. He picked up his toast and took another bite. Time to end the long week with a long day.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Cheryl glanced around the backyard, looking over every detail as everyone jumped out to surprise her. Streamers were falling down from the basketball hoop, balloons were hanging from the swing set and by the windows and tables, the tables were decorated in lacy table cloths with food on plates covering them, small gifts rested under the table and neatly wrapped, a radio sat in the corner by the fence playing childish songs - yes even more childish than for a six-year-old, at least in her opinion - board games and chairs sat all over the grass, and people were actually wearing party hats. Who wore party hats anymore?

Dylan raised an eyebrow as he looked down at his sister. "Hello, earth to Cherry. Come in Cherry." he told her.

Cheryl shook her head rapidly and spun around to Dylan. "Please tell me we're at some other kids' party and not mine!"

Dylan raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "Not unless they did their backyard just like ours."

"But this place looks so...so..." she started.

"Not fun?" Dylan wondered. No way she could actually be thinking that....

"Worse than not fun! Lame!" she gasped.

"How can this look lame?" Dylan asked. "Have you seen all the stuff you can do back here?"

"But it's all wrong! It was supposed to look cool, not baby-ish!" Cheryl insisted.

"Ok if this party thing really is a competition, then you're getting way too competitive." Dylan noticed.

"I am not!" Cheryl yelled.

"Whoa, calm down." Chad said as he and Taylor walked over. He looked behind him to see how the guests were doing, and luckily the girls were just talking and the boys were running around the small basketball court looking for a ball or something. Chad turned back to Cheryl, "What's the problem?"

"How could you throw a party like this? It's so lame!" Cheryl replied.

"Hey, we worked all morning on this. What happened to," Chad started and then changed his voice into a high squeaky one, "'Oh thank you Mom and Dad, this party looks so cool. Thank you for all the hard work you put into this.'"

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "So you want the other kids to make fun of me for a boring party."

"You didn't even do anything yet and you're already making assumptions." Taylor said. "Imagine saying that about someone else's party. Do you know how rude and disrespectful that would be?"

"Yeah but this is my party!" Cheryl replied.

"That we worked hard to put together all morning. That's rude and disrespectful to us, young lady." Taylor reprimanded.

"I don't care. But I'm not sticking around to see them laugh and point at me!" Cheryl insisted. She moaned nd stormed back inside and up to her room.

"And she was in such a good mood when I distracted her five minutes ago. Before we got home." Dylan said half sarcastically. "What are we gonna do?"

"Try again next weekend and hope for the best?" Chad shrugged.

Dylan raised an eyebrow but Taylor sighed and shook her head. "Let's just play this out and see how it goes." she suggested. "If we're lucky enough, the kids will have fun and as soon as Cheryl hears that, she'll come down and want to be a part of it."

"So we're not gonna force her to come to her own party?" Chad asked, confused.

"Not if she's going to act the way she just did. It's her party and if she wants to miss out on it, her loss." She turned and walked back over to the guests.

"Is that some kind of reverse psychology thing?" Dylan wondered, looking at his father.

"If it is, let's hope it works." Chad replied.

O3---- Balloons O3----

Two hours into the party and everyone was getting ready to grab a little food before digging into the cake. They seemed to be having fun, for the most part, but Cheryl still refused to come out. So for the past two hours they started eating and playing games without her. It even got to the point where some of the guests (most of which happened to be girls) started chasing Timothy around the yard because he was older - and because Corrie started it. But with everyone sitting down to eat, it seemed to quiet; there was even any music in the background to fill the atmosphere.

Dylan walked out into the backyard for the third time that afternoon after trying to get Cheryl to come down. "Well, I've still got no luck." he sighed. He stopped and looked around at the yard. "Please tell me this party is still alive."

"If it is, it barely has a pulse." Taylor sighed. "I can't believe Cheryl actually thinks we gave her a boring party."

"I can't believe she doesn't think we're cool. Or have a cool party." Chad added.

"Should we just count our losses and start calling parents?" Taylor wondered.

"But it's only half way over. We can't call now. The parents will think we're boring, too." Chad said.

"Too bad you can't entertain everyone while they eat and get them into more of a party spirit." Dylan sighed. "At least maybe then if they start cheering then Cheryl will get curious and come out which will hopefully get her to join in on the fun."

Chad blinked as he thought about it for a minute. "Entertainment, huh?" he asked. He snapped his fingers and grinned. "Dill, I think you're on to something!" He spun around to the two quickly. "Quick, what entertains kids besides TV?" he asked eagerly.

"You're not seriously asking for my opinion, are you?" Taylor asked doubtfully.

"Why not?" Chad shrugged.

Taylor sighed. "Stuffed animals, toys, books..."

Dylan thought for a minute before contributing, "Movies, food, coloring, music..."

Chad snapped his fingers again. "That's it! We'll go with music. Like karaoke!"

"You're joking, right?" Dylan asked. "No offense Dad, but do you really think little kids want something to do with karaoke, let alone listen to adults or teenagers sing?"

"They listen to it on TV don't they?" Chad shrugged.

"I hate to admit, but that is a point." Taylor said.

"So what then? We get up and do karaoke and then get everyone else to join in and take turns while they eat?" Dylan asked.

"Sure. We got plenty of instrumental CD's somewhere in the house. We can make a song out from those." Chad said. "C'mon Dill, you can go warm them up."

"I'd rather not unless they were listening to me while I was in the shower." Dylan shook his head, having a bit of stage fright.

Chad looked at Taylor and she nodded and folded her arms. "Well, I guess they'll never be able to hear you sing. All they'll be able to hear is the rumors about your voice but they'll never hear it for themselves." she said slyly.

"Ok, I'm not getting tricked this time." Dylan insisted, remembering how she fooled him when they practiced driving.

Taylor just shrugged and continued. "And then it'll turn out that one of them will get a world famous record deal when you could have been the one that went up first and it will haunt you forever. All because you were too scared to pick up a microphone and sing to some music..."

"I'm not scared of music." Dylan muttered.

"Just afraid of a few melodies escaping a radio or stereo system and not being able to open your mouth only once. And when almost everyone you grew up with not only can sing themselves but also know that you can sing. But there's no point in forcing you to get over your fear. I suppose we'll just have to call someone else to entertain the kids. Maybe if we're lucky we can call Troy and Gabriella over and they can entertain everyone instead...."

"No way!" Dylan gasped. "I can entertain them just fine. And that's no fair, Troy and Gabriella have way more experience..." Dylan's mouth dropped open as he stopped in mid sentence and saw the look on Taylor's face. "Oh man, I got tricked again." he moaned. He hit his head and then headed over to the group of kids reluctantly.

"Oh you're good." Chad smiled at Taylor.

"I know." Taylor shrugged with a nod. "Let's go get those CD's."

As they walked into the house, Dylan started getting everyone's attention and as soon as all eyes were on him, he gulped. He picked up a toy microphone, one that looked like it came with a toy karaoke set or something, and saw his parents load a CD into the radio. As soon as the music started, Dylan had no choice but to sing. There was no backing out now. He started singing the first song that came to mind.

_"Life is good, I can't complain_

_I mean I could but no one's listening_

_Your image overwhelms my brain_

_And it feels good, good, good"_

The kids started picking up their heads at the singing. They heard the song earlier and seemed to enjoy it, at times only a couple started dancing to it. But there was no dancing with it this time. They were too busy listening to Dylan singing. And quite frankly, he still had the song stuck in his head from before.

_"Like a roller coaster ride_

_Holding on my knuckles white_

_Whoa, whoa_

_Every time I'm like_

_Up and down and side to side_

_Whoa, whoa"_

He just did a shorter version of the song, but everyone seemed to like it. The one disappointing thing was that when Dylan looked to see if Cheryl had come out, she wasn't there. But Dylan had to snap out of his thoughts as he felt someone tug on the end of his shirt. That's right, the song was over; he had to let someone else have a turn. Good, let someone else be the entertainment for a few minutes. It was a lot easier to please kids than Dylan thought...no wonder he wanted to end it now!

"My turn, right?" Justina asked eagerly as she pull on his shirt.

"Yeah, sure." Dylan nodded with relief as he handed her the toy mic. He walked away from the kids as Justina started singing and the others cheered her on. Dylan moved some hair out of his face as he walked back over to his parents. "I'm getting a drink from inside." he decided as he walked back in.

Chad raised an eyebrow. Dylan sang so well, but he wanted to get out of there and just get some soda or something? He turned to Taylor with a puzzled look. "Am I the only one who's getting the feeling that he just took entertainer of his 'what I wanna be when I grow up' list?"

O3---- Balloons O3----

The more songs that went on with the party, the more everyone started to enjoy themselves. Everyone wanted to get up and sing. Even if they couldn't sing for their lives, everyone would just laugh and joke around. And except for one kid, the kids who couldn't sing that did laughed along with everyone else. But Cheryl still hadn't come out to join the fun. What no one knew was that she had been listening in from her bedroom window and at times sneaked down to try and get a better look at everyone from the dining room, careful not to be seen. But that was the problem; she still wouldn't come out.

"Ok, this is ridiculous." Chad finally sighed. "The party ends in an hour and a half and it doesn't even look like Cheryl's party anymore. That girl is so stubborn."

"So much for your master plan." Taylor muttered.

"Well there has to be even one song that'll make her come out." Dylan said.

"What makes you say that?" Chad wondered.

"Well maybe if she hears her favorite song it'll make her wanna come out and listen to it better than from upstairs, assuming she can hear anything down here." Dylan stated.

"Ok so what song would a spoiled, overconfident, athletic, hyperactive, selfish child like?" Chad asked.

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Those are all negative qualities."

"No wonder. That was just like your father when he was growing up." Taylor stated.

"Ok, you're not helping right now." Chad sighed.

"Hey, what about that song from last year? When we had her party at the bowling alley?" Dylan suggested.

"Which song?" Chad asked, confused. "'Happy Birthday'?"

"Or are you talking about 'Celebrate You'?" Taylor wondered.

"That's the one." Dylan nodded eagerly. "C'mon, we're talking about the girl who jumps out of the house every day looking for something to do or something to throw a basketball or toy at."

"He does have a point." Chad mumbled.

"And how she's always talking about trying to get taller than all of us." Dylan continued. "Perfect example of the song. So get up there and sing."

"Yeah, get up there and..." Chad started but paused. "What did you say?"

"You heard him. You've sung it before, even if it was just in the shower." Taylor said.

"That never leaves this spot." Chad whispered. He didn't like people knowing he sang in the shower, even if it was just his family. It was embarrassing.

"You too, Mom." Dylan said.

"Ok, how did I get dragged into this?" Taylor asked.

"Every other kid out here sang. And you two put this party together. You need to have fun here too, you know." Dylan said as he folded his arms. "Or are you just too scared to sing?"

"Ok, that is not fair. You are using my tactic against me." Taylor said.

"I know." Dylan couldn't help but smirk.

"And how do you know Cheryl won't get embarrassed if she heard us singing to her friends?" Chad asked, still looking for a way to get out of it.

"She didn't get embarrassed when you danced out of the shower that one time when her friends from school came over." Dylan pointed out. "You were rocking like Elvis Presley or someone when you did that."

"No, they just laughed at me." Chad said. Then that made him think. "Oh man, they're gonna laugh at my singing!"

Taylor his her forehead. "Chad, stop being a baby and go grab that microphone."

"I don't want to." Chad whined as he folded his arms.

"Then you can sleep in the bed alone tonight." Taylor retorted.

"I'm gonna go get that microphone now." Chad said quickly as he ran over to it.

"You gotta get the microphone, too." Dylan said as Chad ran to get it, yet Taylor remained where she was.

"Dylan you can't seriously make me-" she started.

"I can hold my breath until I turn blue, pull the guilty card, or steal something from your closet and wear it to school tomorrow." Dylan suggested almost mischievously. "Which will it be?"

Taylor folded her arms and shook her head. "Pull that one more time and the only company you'll see from school for a week are your books." she told him as she walked over to Chad.

Dylan just chuckled as soon as he was alone. "I always wanted to try that." he admitted to himself. He paused and realized something. "I'd better not try that again."

Chad sighed as he picked up the mic. "If this doesn't work, I'm locking myself in my room." he muttered to Taylor as she walked over.

"It's my room, too." she told him. "Where would I lock myself?"

"The bathroom?" Chad suggested.

"Oh, real mature." Taylor said sarcastically.

Chad sighed. He looked around to see if Cheryl had come down, but no luck. With no other choice, he had to start singing. This is what his entertainment came down to. Not reading a bedtime story or playing sports but singing for a kid's party.

_"Everyday is the right day_

_It's easy to understand_

_Cause you get the chance and you take it_

_Make it the best you can make it_

_Why should you hold back?"_

With no other choice and still no sign of the birthday girl, Chad continued singing and Taylor was coerced into making the chorus a duet.

_"It's the time of your life_

_You don't want to miss out_

_On right here and now_

_There's so many reasons why_

_You don't wanna stop_

_It's your chance, live it up_

_Celebrate you (oh, oh)_

_Celebrate you (oh, oh)_

As the second verse started, Cheryl was carefully watching from the dining room screen door. It was a good thing she hadn't been caught yet or else she might be forced back out there. But this was just plain humiliating now. Her parents were singing. She didn't even want to see the looks on her classmates' faces. Cheryl gulped, letting her curiosity get the better of her. Her gaze switched to the direction of her friends and they seemed to like the song, moving their heads back and forth to the rhythm of the song. They actually looked like they were having fun - and without her! As soon as her parents finished the song a couple of minutes later, Cheryl jumped outside.

"Hey! How can you celebrate me if I'm not out here?" she moaned. "I wanna turn to sing, too."

Corrie was the first to jump out of the seat and ran over to her friend. "Yay, you're back! You didn't die!" she exclaimed as she hugged her.

Cheryl blinked and looked at Timothy and Justina.

"She thought you were gonna die being locked in your room all day." Timothy said.

"I did not!" Corrie lied as she let go of Cheryl and pointed to Timothy. "Attack Timmy!" she declared.

Timothy gulped as he ran out of his seat and started rushing around the yard, being chased by at least half of the kids. Cheryl just blinked as she watched everyone. "Hey wait for me! I wanna kill Timmy, too!" she called as she got into the race.

Dylan just blinked as he tried to avoid the running children while he walked over to his parents. "By Jove, I think it worked."

"The song actually worked..." Chad said in disbelief. "Why didn't we think of it sooner? We probably got an hour left by now or something."

Taylor's eyes widened. "The cake!" she remembered. "They still need to have the cake."

"I'll take it out and find the candles." Dylan offered as he tried to get through the screaming kids again and get into the house. Now he was liking it better when they were all sitting.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

Chad sighed with relief as the final guest left the backyard with their parents. He moved some hair out of his face as he closed the fence. "It's finally over." he breathed. "We lived through the party and are still in one piece."

"Just be glad we got through cake, presents, and dancing for a whole hour." Dylan said, still finishing his slice.

"So many kids..." Chad said to himself, trying to get over how crowded it felt. He shook his head and turned to Taylor. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm just glad it's over." Taylor admitted. "I need a nap so badly after that."

"How about you go take care of that and I'll start cleaning up?" Chad suggested.

"There's just one order of business to take care of first." Taylor said as she stopped him from kissing her by holding up a finger. She turned to see Cheryl, who was fooling around with one of her birthday presents. "Cheryl can you come over here?" she asked. "We still need to discuss your behavior today."

"Yeah." Chad agreed as he saw her get up and walk over to them. "You help give us faint ideas for your party that we can't even afford and then you call it lame and pull the 'it's my party and I'll lock myself in my room if I want to' attitude and then when the party's almost over you come rushing out here like nothing happened. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Cheryl just squealed as she hugged her parents tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she exclaimed quickly. "This was the best party ever and it was so much fun and everyone loved it and thought it was so great, it wasn't even lame at all. I loved it, you're the best parents ever! I love you guys!" As soon as she let go of them, she rushed up to her room to bring in her presents so she could play with them some more.

Chad blinked from confusion once again. "Uh...what just happened?" he asked, not even understanding everything Cheryl said.

"I...actually don't entirely know." Taylor admitted, seeming a bit perplexed herself. "I think I'll head up for that nap now and see if this was all just a dream."

"Or a nightmare." Chad nodded. "I'll join you after I take care of the garbage."

"Yeah, and I'll clear some of the tables after I finish my slice of cake." Dylan agreed.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. He saw Taylor head to the back door to get inside, but he stopped her. "So you held up ok today?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Taylor nodded, turning to him.

"No stomach aches? No fever? No need to throw up?" Chad wondered, wanting to be sure.

"Not right now, I really think I'm over it." she shook her head. "I'll make a doctor's appointment when I wake up to be sure."

"Ok." Chad agreed. "Get some rest." he added after kissing her.

"I will." Taylor promised.

As soon as Chad started cleaning up and was out of earshot, Dylan walked over to Taylor. He made sure to speak quietly, just in case.

"So it really was just a stomach virus?" he wondered.

"I'll know for sure soon." Taylor shrugged. "I'm due for a checkup anyway."

Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you're not pregnant, then?"

"Dill I would know if I was." Taylor replied.

"But you'd tell Dad if you were, right?" he checked.

"He'd be the first to know." Taylor promised. "Don't worry. I'm going to tell him."

* * *

That was the longest one so far, I think. And if I haven't said before, sorry if some of the chapters are out of order with ages and everything. If you want me to make a list of what order they'd technically be in if it was like a timline then just say so. So, thought I'd leave it at that for now, maybe just give a possible climactic feel or something. That make sense? Ok then, no sense in me saying anything else now.


	10. Heart to Heart

So we are up to this next chapter now. Suspense, much? Not sure if that's good or bad. Anyway, I've had all these ideas about what to add and now I'm putting this one in before I forget. It's kind of like the second parter to chapter nine, i guess, and it's also a suggestion from someone. So Ash, thank you for your suggestion. This is step one right to it!  
Disclaimer: If we read all this HSM fanfiction why would we own HSM? xD  
_Chapter Ten Summary: About a week after Cheryl's party, making her officially six and Dylan eighteen (as he was last chapter). Taylor comes back from the doctor's and has to talk to Chad, revealing a secret in the process. Elsewhere, Justina and Cheryl decide to have a little competition with each other.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Ten: Heart to Heart  
**

Taylor stepped in through the front door, quietly closing it behind her. She looked around the house carefully, or what she could see of it. The living room was empty, no one appeared to be in the dining room, so if the kitchen was clear then she could head up and be unnoticed. She turned her head in the direction and saw Chad standing by the counter in the kitchen, leaning forward onto it with what looked like a coffee mug in front of him.

"Oh...you're still home." Were the first words that came out of her mouth.

"Yeah." Chad nodded. "Dylan took Cheryl to the park. I think he went to pick up Tim, Justina, and Corrie. Possibly."

Taylor merely nodded. "I thought you were taking them."

"Nope. Just the kids." he shook his head. "So how'd your appointment go?" That was the main reason Chad had stayed in almost all day. After thinking she was over the cold or whatever it was about a week ago, Taylor decided to make a doctor's appointment to make sure and to get her usual checkup. Of course, with also throwing up more on occasions she wanted to be sure. She said she was feeling better, no fever or much of an upset stomach. She ate a little more than when she was sick too, so obviously her appetite was back. But that still didn't explain the nausea, unless everything she ate didn't agree with her.

"It was alright." Taylor stated with a single nod, not wanting to talk about it too much. "The doctor assumed that I did catch a minor bug, especially considering how much it was spreading to everyone. I'm amazed no one else in this house got sick."

"So you're completely over it then?" Chad wondered.

"I'm over something." Taylor replied. "Just may not be what you think."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

"Good." she answered. "I'm just going to head upstairs. I'm not in much of a talking mood right now."

"You want some company?" Chad wondered.

"No, I'm ok." Taylor told him. "Thanks, though."

Chad only sighed as she headed up the stairs. Why did he get the feeling that she was hiding something from him?

--page break--page break--page break--

"Hey, why are you guys not playing?" Dylan asked as he walked over to the kids. "You're at the park. There's slides, swings, monkey bars, ice cream...and here you are laying down on the grass."

"We're bored." Cheryl answered, picking up her head for that brief moment.

"Ok how can you be bored?" Dylan wondered.

"There's nothing to do. We're not chasing each other. We're not attacking each other. Where's the rush of excitement?" Timothy questioned.

Justina sighed. They always had to be so hyper with Corrie. But Corrie was at home sick so she couldn't join them. Justina didn't know why she was there, either. Sure she loved her brother and was friends with Cheryl, but they seemed to have more fun with Corrie. It was like Justina didn't belong with them.

"Sorry Corrie couldn't join us." she said sarcastically.

"You're just mad cause she's the funner twin." Cheryl stated.

Justina's eyes widened as she sat up. "What?"

"You don't do as much fun stuff as Corrie does, even is she is crazy." Cheryl shrugged.

"Uh, before you guys go any further," Dylan suggested, "don't call someone crazy unless you're joking about it or they really go act crazy. Corrie's just an active girl is all. Not crazy."

"Uh-huh." Cheryl muttered.

"So what are you sayin?" Justina asked. "That I'm not fun cause I'm not Corrie?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Cheryl nodded.

"Oooh, cat fight." Timothy chuckled.

"Back off, Tim. I can handle her." Justina told her brother.

"Hello, I'm olderer." Cheryl said.

"By like three weeks or something. Big deal." Justina said sarcastically. "I'm taller."

"Barely!" Cheryl argued.

"Oh so you wanna make somethin outta it?" Justina questioned.

"Bring it on, girlie!" Cheryl retorted.

Dylan sighed and hit his head as Tim watched eagerly, clearly more entertained. "I think I need a life outside of babysitting." Dylan muttered to himself.

--page break--page break--page break--

Chad picked his head up a while later as he saw Taylor come downstairs. "Sleep well?" he asked her.

"Something like that. Made another trip to the bathroom, though." she admitted. She picked up a desk calendar from the credenza and flipped a few pages, as though she were looking for a date to mark up with the pen she had just picked up.

"Were you throwing up again?" Chad asked, a bit concerned.

"Just a little. No big deal." Taylor shook her head.

Chad sighed. He hated seeing Taylor like this, so distant. She was only like that when something was bothering her. Like how the only time she would sound quiet and not make eye contact was when she was depressed or something horrible happened. She was distracted right now, Chad knew that much was true.

"You sure you're ok?" he wondered.

"Yeah." she merely nodded, finally marking down one of the pages with something.

Chad cocked his head as though he were trying to get a better look. But still in the kitchen leaning up against the counter, there was no way he'd be able to see a thing. "Whatchya writing?"

"Just an appointment." Taylor answered.

"what kind?" Chad inquired. "Dentist? Doctors?" He paused as soon as he said 'doctors'. If she was making another appointment for that, then something had to be wrong.

"It's nothing important." she shook her head.

Chad tilted his head slightly and sighed. He couldn't talk to her if she was in the living room, almost half way across the household from him. "Tay, come here?"

Taylor picked her head up slightly and glanced at Chad. She sighed and put the pen down, slowly making her way into the kitchen. Chad held his arms out to her, but for once, as much as she would have loved to, Taylor didn't want into them. This caused Chad to sigh as he managed to get her hands in a gentle hold. He tried meeting with her eyes, knowing they had something to talk about.

"Tay, what's wrong?" he asked

"Nothing." she shook her head, refusing to meet his gaze.

This was going to be harder than he thought. "Tay, we tell each other practically everything, right?" he asked expectantly.

"Right." she nodded.

"And we're always there for each other if something's wrong, right?"

"Right."

"And we always have something to talk about, right?"

"Chad, are you going somewhere with this?"

So much for luring her in. "I just want to know what they told you. I wanna know if something's wrong. I have the right to know, don't I?"

"Of course." Taylor shrugged. "But there's nothing to know."

"You sure about that?" Chad asked. He could tell she was hiding something. He just didn't know what.

But Taylor knew she couldn't keep a secret forever when it came to Chad. And she made a promise that he would be told. She just couldn't find the words or begin to comprehend his reaction, let alone start planning everything. If anything, that much was normal.

"Well...maybe there is something." she admitted after a moment.

"So then what is it?" Chad wondered, finally able to meet her eyes. He managed to slowly wrap his arms around her. "You can tell me, Tay. You can tell me anything."

"I know. I guess I just don't know where to start." she said softly.

"Give it to me straight." Chad said calmly. "As long as it's not you dying then whatever it is, I can take it."

"Chad, if I were dying don't you think I'd want to spend more time with you instead of going to bed or heading to the bathroom?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow seriously.

"Good point." Chad nodded. "So then what is it?"

"Well, the condition that I was in was clearly from a bug or virus. And while the majority of the symptoms went away, revealing my overall health status afterward, should have meant that all was well and I was no longer ill." she explained. "But as we both know, my trips to the bathroom have still been frequent. I was lucky to go one day without needing to go at all. But aside from that exception, every other day I've made that trip at least once. And the reason for that is not due to a cold or virus, and thankfully not a cause of something such as anorexia or bulimia."

"Ok, you haven't lost me yet...I think." Chad said, though ended it off with a puzzled look. "So if it's not any of those things, then why's your food constantly coming out the wrong end?"

"The same reason it did before Cheryl came into the picture." Taylor answered simply, holding in a sigh. She kept her voice quiet and looked down, then slowly back up at Chad. "I'm pregnant."

--page break--page break--page break--

"Guys this really isn't necessary. Why are you even doing this?" Dylan asked as the girls sat on swings beside each other.

"To see who's funner." Cheryl said. "And peoples who are usually fun have big maginations."

"That's _imaginations_, Cher." Justina corrected.

"That's _Cheryl_ to you, _Justy_." she huffed.

"That nickname is for my friends and family only." Justina stated. "And you're not actin like much a friend right now."

"I never knew little girls could be so cold to each other. I thought it only happened in high school." Dylan rubbed the back of his head.

"Nah," Timothy shook his head. "You shoulda seen two girls in my class go at it durin gym. They were fightin over who could have first hit with the baseball bat. They tugged on it and everythin."

Dylan shook his head, "On second thought I don't wanna know."

"Ok, round one." Cheryl declared. "I get to pick the scene."

"Bring it, tomboy." Justina smirked like she wasn't worried.

"Kay. We're on our own spaceships gettin ready to take off and soar the galaxy." Cheryl explained. "So we gotta go through takin off and then as we go higher in the sky we see a tons of stuff in outer space." She pulled ehrself back on the swing a little. "Ready to get your butt kicked?"

"I aughta be askin you the same thing." Justina replied. She pulled back on her swing and acted like she was talking on a speaker. "Pilot to co-pilot, we are ready for take-off. Set course for planet Himond, land of the green and purple martian people with big ears, on my giant mansion-like pink spaceship." She smirked at Cheryl.

Cheryl just shrugged, taking her turn. "And I'm takin off in tens seconds. A long spaceship with a lightnin bolt on the side, pool on the inside, packs of hungry wolves, and nine pounds of bananas. I'm gonna set the first expedition to planet Floogen to see how the blue dirt affects the growth of bananas and the hunger patterns of wolves."

"That's lame." Justina informed her as she started swinging. "And I tooked off ahead of you! I'm soarin through space at the speed of light!"

Cheryl rolled her eyes and tried to go as high as Justina started. "You dunno what lame is till you think of it. I tooked off late to builed up suspense. And now I'm enablin the rockets in the ship's butt to go even faster than the speed a sound so I can see how my astronaut cow bretherns are doin."

"What dope sends cows to the moon?" Justina questioned. "Specially when I'm already seeing butterflies and kitties fighting over balls a yarn on the moon!"

"I never said they were goin to the moon. They're tryin to escape being rangled by space cowboys near Mars." Cheryl held her nose up.

"There's no cowboys on Mars!" Justina insisted.

"That's cause I'm more smarterer and creativer than you." Cheryl gloated with a smile.

Dylan sighed as he watched the girls and leaned up against the fence. "This is gonna take a while."

But Timothy rubbed his chin, having something else on his mind. "So if the green and purple aliens with big ears are comin into the picture soon, what else do they look like? And are they related to the Ear Fairy?"

--page break--page break--page break--

"You're pregnant?" Chad repeated quietly. A smile slowly came on his face as he wrapped his arms around Taylor. "Tay, that's amazing. We're gonna have another baby."

"It's nothing special, Chad." Taylor shook her head as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"What makes you think that?" Chad asked. "We were both excited when we found out about Cheryl."

"How can we be excited? There's not enough room in this house for another child, and we certainly can't move." Taylor said.

"We can stay in town. I'm sure there's still at least once house for sale." Chad suggested.

"Chad, no." Taylor insisted. "There's too many memories here. I know it's not your original house, but this is still special. We're not selling it."

"Ok, ok." Chad agreed. That was quite a relief; he hoped they wouldn't need to sell it anyway. "Well, how about we convert one of the rooms or make an extra one? Maybe we can cut down the size of the dining room to make it into another bedroom..."

"Chad that's ridiculous." Taylor replied as she pulled out of his hug. "How can we go through with this?"

"Simple. Maybe the baby can share a room with Cheryl." Chad answered. "Think about it, Tay. Our family keeps growing."

"And if it keeps growing how can we support everyone?" Taylor inquired.

"It's just one more baby, Tay." Chad said. "You said we could talk more babies after Cheryl grew out of babyhood."

"That's not the point." she shook her head.

"Then what is?" Chad asked.

Taylor sighed and looked away. "I can't be pregnant."

"Sure you can. See it happens when two people who love each other get together and-" Chad started.

"I know how it happens." Taylor interrupted. "You don't understand, I really can't be pregnant. I can't go through it again."

"What do you mean?" Chad asked. "Look at how we went through it with Cheryl. I mean, sure there were a few problems with the crankiness and food cravings..."

"I mean we can't lose another one!" Taylor blurt out.

Chad paused and took a step back. That wasn't the reaction he was thinking of. But now he knew something was wrong. He watched as Taylor turned her back to him. Chad sighed and tried putting a hand on her shoulder. "Taylor...it's not about the abortion from high school, is it?"

"No, of course not." she shook her head. "There was another one."

"What are you talking about?" Chad wondered, trying to ignore the slight nervousness he was now feeling.

Taylor reluctantly and slowly turned to Chad. She took a deep breath before explaining. "Around this time two years ago I went to the doctor's because I wasn't feeling well. I wasn't really throwing up or having cramps, but I knew I didn't feel good. So I went to get checked out and I found out that I was pregnant."

"So why didn't you tell me?" Chad wondered, trying to remain calm.

"It didn't make sense to. I was almost ready to get excited about it, but it didn't even make it up to the three month mark." Taylor sighed, looking down. "I lost it before we could even get excited."

Chad gently lifted Taylor's chin up so she could look at him. "Why didn't you tell me? We could've gone through it together." he said softly.

"And say what? Chad the good news is that I'm pregnant but the bad news is that as soon as I found out, I lost it, too?" she replied.

"That's the thing." Chad said. "You didn't just lose it. We lost it. Maybe at the time we weren't ready for another kid or something. It happened for a reason, Tay."

"So why sound so relaxed?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Because it's in the past. What's done is done." Chad answered. "Am I upset? Yes, but more about you not telling me than about losing a baby. But we have another one we need to focus on right now."

Taylor just looked down and shook her head. "I just can't go through it again." she said as she spun around and started heading upstairs.

Chad shook his head and followed Taylor as they went through the living room. He easily caught up with her and wrapped one arm around her, stroking her arm with his free hand. "You can't get away that easily." he tried to joke, even though it didn't get far at all. "We're supposed to be happy about this, not depressed. We can't change what happened but we can still look to the future. And there's one major difference between last time and this time. I'm right here by your side."

"I just don't want to get anyone's hopes up only to find out that there's nothing to look forward to." she shook her head quietly.

"Whatever happens, happens. I can be depressed with you. Come on." Chad tilted his head. He smiled slightly and tried to make a joke out of it. "You could see a grown man cry. You know you hate that."

Taylor managed to get a giggle escape her. "You know it's nothing to joke about."

"I know." he nodded. "So tell me when the appointment is. I'll go with you."

"I marked it on the calendar." Taylor answered. "Two weeks from tomorrow."

"I'll ask to leave work early that day. I can come here and we can drive there together." Chad offered.

Taylor turned to face him. "But what about Dylan and Cheryl? How are they going to react?"

"They'll be thrilled." Chad assured her. "Dill gets another sibling and Cheryl gets to be an older sister."

"There's going to be abnormal age differences." Taylor stated. "Eighteen years between Dylan and the baby, and six between it and Cheryl."

"We don't make assumptions on that Tay. We tell them first." Chad said. "Remember when we told Dill when we found out we were gonna have Cheryl?"

Taylor smiled at the memory. "We sat him down on the couch, told him that we were going to have a baby, and he looked at us like we were mad scientists." She saw Chad chuckle before continuing, "He asked where the baby was coming from, we said us and told him he would be a big brother. And then you gave him the speech about being an older brother and ended up telling him about the time your sister almost shaved your head when you were fifteen." She started laughing herself.

"Man, good times." Chad laughed.

The laughter slowly died down and Taylor cocked her head. "And how are you going to handle this?"

Chad sighed, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "Ok, so I know I have a disturbing fear of..." he paused to think of the right word, "...births, but I have a good reason to be. My family lost at least five women in delivery. My second cousin; my dad's stepsister; another cousin; my dad's aunt's younger sister; and my aunt, my mom's twin." He sighed again, "I'm just saying, the Danforths have an unlucky streak of going into the hospital with a woman and coming out with a baby."

"You mother survived you and Sharon, didn't she?" Taylor inquired calmly. "And I know you have at least two other female cousins. I'm sure they survived, assuming they gave birth. And you are forgetting one other thing, Chad."

"What's that?" Chad asked.

"I'm not all Danforth. I'm a Mcessie first." Taylor responded. "And I promise, I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you leave with three children and one wife. Nothing less."

Chad couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face. "So does that mean...?"

Taylor smiled and nodded. "We'd better start planning for the new arrival. We have nine months to prepare everything."

Chad cheered and spun Taylor around. "We gotta start thinking of names!" he exclaimed. "We're gonna be parents! Again!"

--page break--page break--page break--

Dylan moaned as he hit his forehead. "Guys, this is ridiculous. Again." he must have repeated for the fourth time. After the girls had their competition on the swings they raced around the park, then saw who could do more tricks on the monkey bars, then draw in a sandbox with sticks, and then use different symbols other than x's and o'x for tic-tac-toe. "What does seeing who can count more ants crawling on the ground have to do with anything?"

"It's competition, Dill." Justina said, not picking her head up. "We're seein who can count higher and see more ants."

"Yeah, and I already made it to leven!" Cheryl grinned.

Justina sat up and put her hands on her hips. "You can't count that high."

"Sure can." Cheryl gloated. "I'll show you." She started counting off each finger, "One, five, three, six, seben, nineteen, pickle..."

"Pickle is a food, not a number!" Justina argued.

"You count how many pickles are in a tub." Cheryl argued.

"Cannot!" Justina fought.

"Can so!"

"Cannot!"

"Can so!"

Timothy looked up at Dylan. "Time to go home yet?"

Dylan looked at his watch, "Hopefully soon. Cause something tells me these two aren't giving up until one of them wins."

"How much longer is that gonna be?" Tim asked.

"Wish I knew." Dylan admitted. "I know Cheryl's really stubborn, but I didn't know Justina could be, too."

"Yeah. That's why she's not as active as Corrie." he shook his head. "Justy don't listen to lots of people." He heard Dylan sigh, and blinked before saying something else. "If we're still gonna watch em argue can we got some iced cream?"

Dylan bit his tongue, wishing he had bought more than five dollars. He wasn't sure if that was enough to get ice cream for him and Timothy, and possibly the girls. "Well..." he started.

"Ok, this is borin." Justina folded her arms.

"You know, you're not wrong for once." Cheryl replied.

Dylan sighed with relief. Maybe they would finally finish.

"We need to have one more round!" she continued, holding up her arm in declaration. "Let's see who can come up with the grossest pizzas!"

"Me first!" Justina insisted. "Pizza covered in mushrooms and dirt and worms and pickles and caviar!"

"I can beat that." Cheryl replied. "Pizza with icing, watermelons, sour patch kids, and guacamole!"

Dylan moaned and shifted his position to lean up against a nearby tree to nearly hit his head. Why a topic like this?

Timothy seemed just as disturbed. He held his stomach and made a face, "On second thought, I'm not hungry no more."

--page break--page break--page break--

"Ok so what names do we have so far?" Chad asked as he sat on the couch next to Taylor.

Taylor put down the pen and picked up the notepad which they started using. "Well, we have five names for boys and thee for girls, but that's just a starting point for names in general." she answered. "For girls there's Tia, Claudia, and Daley. And for boys we have Theodore - something along the lines of Teddy for short, Dustin, Christian, Tyler, and Charles."

Chad scratched the back of his head. "Ok, I think we need to brainstorm another night. Those names kinda stink. Even for middle names."

"Ok, we'll take a break for the rest of the day and see what we can come up with another time." Taylor offered as she closed the pad and put it down. She leaned up against the couch and Chad slipped his arm around her. She took thta as her opportunity to snuggle in closer to him. "So you really think we cna handle a third child?"

"I think we can manage." Chad nodded. "I'll see if I can put in just a couple of extra hours for the week to be on the safe side."

"And I'll be sure to alert my boss and tell them to get a new secretary for a while during my maternity leave." Taylor added. "I just hope it doesn't end like last time."

"You're not losing another job. You had a couple of bit-" Chad started.

"No cursing in front of the baby." Taylor playfully scolded.

"He can't hear us." Chad sang back.

Taylor shook her head and slapped his arm lightly. "How do you know it's a he?"

"It's a boy's turn to come out." Chad shrugged.

"Good luck believing that." Taylor giggled. "For all you know we could have another girl."

"For all you know we could have another troublemaker." Chad joked.

"No way." she shook her head right away. "One mini you is bad enough, we don't need another."

"And this coming from the woman who didn't want anything to do with this an hour ago." Chad laughed. It was amazing how something could turn from horror to excitement so quickly.

"I can change my mind." Taylor shrugged simply.

"Yeah well I know something I don't wanna change my mind about." Chad said as he looked at her.

Taylor cocked her head once more and looked up at him, her head partially on his shoulder. "And what would that be?"

He started leaning in for a kiss. "Sharing a little love with-"

"We're home." Dylan said as he walked in through the front door with Cheryl right behind him.

"Never mind." Chad muttered quickly as he pulled away, not wanting to get caught when they were about to have such a nice moment.

Taylor turned her head to the kids. "Have fun?"

"Justina and I had contests to see who was funner!" Cheryl exclaimed.

"Yeah...and whatever you do, don't order pizza tonight." Dylan said.

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances and raised an eyebrow before turning back to them. "Do we wanna know?" Chad asked.

"Not unless you wanna lose your lunch." Dylan shook his head.

"Trust me, I lost enough of that already." Taylor mumbled.

"Speaking of which, don't we have to tell them a little somethin somethin?" Chad asked Taylor ever so casually.

Taylor looked at him and nodded. "You know, I believe we do."

"I didn't break anything." Cheryl said right away. "I knocked it over."

Taylor raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "Knocked what over?"

"Oh...nothing." she said quickly, hoping to get away with it.

"Uh, should we sit down for this?" Dylan wondered, hoping to get on with it.

"Yup." Chad nodded as he and Taylor rose from the couch. "Have a seat, children."

"We don't live in French, Dad." Cheryl rolled her eyes.

"You mean France." Dylan corrected her. "And he was speaking with a British accent." He covered his mouth to cough but was really covering up for, "A bad one."

"Do you wanna heat the news or not?" Chad asked.

Cheryl sighed heavily and sat down on the couch. Dylan cooperated easier and sat down next to her, his hands in his lap in a relaxed manner. Any news had to be better than what he went through today. "So what up?" he wondered.

Chad and Taylor looked at each other with smiles, then turned to Dylan and Cheryl. "Think you guys can make room for one more in his old house?" Chad asked.

Cheryl blinked, trying to understand. But she simply wasn't following. "What?" she asked in a confused, squeaky voice.

Dylan, however, seemed to catch on much quicker. "Wait a minute...are you two saying...?"

"Tell them Tay." Chad grinned.

She didn't even hesitate to finish. "We're going to have ababy!" Taylor exclaimed.

"Oh snap!" Dylan gasped with a smile. "That's awesome! Someone to fill the void in your hears when I start college and possibly move out!" he joked, giving them each a hug.

"Yeah, like one baby can really replace you." Chad laughed. He hugged Dylan and wrapped his arm around Taylor. "And what do you have to say about it, Cherry?" he asked the six-year-old.

Cheryl just raised an eyebrow, still confused. "Yay?"

Chad nodded eagerly. "Yay!" he answered.

"Oh...yay!" Cheryl realized, it was a good thing. "Partner in crime!" Yeah, not the response anyone was hoping for. Didn't they just agree one troublemaker was enough?

Luckily, Dylan picked Cheryl up and distracted her. "Hey, how about we go through some old things and see what we can give to the baby."

"Your socks." Cheryl laughed. She jumped down from her brother's arms and ran upstairs.

"Hey wait a minute, no baby's getting my sweaty socks!" he gasped as he chased after her.

Taylor covered her mouth in giggles and Chad couldn't help but burst out laughing. "Are you sure we want to add one more of those to this household?" she asked, trying to hide her laughter.

"As sure as I am of this." Chad agreed with a wide smile. He pulled Taylor in for a passionate kiss, and naturally she returned. Once they pulled away, Chad rested his forehead against hers. "We really should celebrate tonight."

"Popcorn and our favorite movie?" Taylor inquired with a smile.

Chad grinned, "That's only step one in preparation for the next Danforth."

* * *

Ok, so anyone read my a/n like two chapters ago? I was talking about introducing a new character? Now you know what - or who. The only question is (which I would love opinions on)....**Will it be a boy or a girl? You decide!** Ok, lame time for bolded letters probably. XD I'm sorry, I can't decide! So, thanks again to Ash for suggesting that C&T have another baby. Not sure when yet, but now you know there's gonna be an arrival eventually! And wait a minute...we never found out whether Justina or Cheryl was more "funner". Guess that's just left for your imaginations. 0=)


	11. Baby Issues

Thank you once again all for the very nice reviews. Everyone seems to be happy with the oneshots. C= As usual, fell free to suggest any additions to them if you wish! Now as for current suspense in these onehots, with a new baby coming into the picture I may or may not put up a poll if it'll make it easier to figure out what gender it should be.  
Disclaimer: I can dream, can't I?  
_Chapter Eleven Summary: Time to start planning for the newest arrival. With seven months until the baby comes, the Danforths have to start preparing the house. What changes are they going to have to make? And is everyone really as happy as they seem?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Eleven: Baby Issues  
**

"Ok, how about that one?" Taylor inquired as she pointed to a bright yellow crib in one of the furniture catalogs.

"Looks too expensive." Chad shook his head. "Why can't we use Cheryl's old crib? I can put it back together."

"We don't know that it's going to be yet. We can't just give the baby that crib. Suppose it does turn out to be a boy?" Taylor replied.

"I can paint it blue or something. Maybe even paint it yellow for the time being." he offered as he flipped through the pages some more. "Besides, why should we even start looking for a new crib now? We won't even know the sex of the baby till like the six month mark or something."

"We had to rush to get everything before Cheryl came." Taylor reminded him. "We can't procrastinate again. And besides, there's extra planning to do. Like where it's going to sleep."

"I can call a contractor and see if they can add an extra room somewhere." he suggested.

"Are we even going to be able to afford something like that?" she asked.

"Well after diaper expenses, new furniture, maybe a new paint job for wherever it's going to sleep, toys, and other essentials..." Chad replied as he typed everything into a calculator. He sighed and leaned back on the couch, "We'll be lucky to have enough money to buy a kid's meal from Burger King for dinner. For five."

"Are we really that bad off? Maybe you misplaced a decimal." Taylor offered as she took the calculator and began retyping everything.

"Hey, there was a serious cut on paychecks at the daycare center. I'm bringing home half of what I used to." Chad sighed.

Taylor shook her head. "There has to be something we can do."

"I can find a better paying job." Chad suggested.

"No you're not." she insisted. "You love it at the daycare center and you know it."

Chad was the first to admit it. It was way better than owning some bowling alley. He got paid to goof off most of the day and all it took was to watch over a handful of kids. "Well, maybe I can work more hours." he said. "I have two days a week off, but if I can get them to let me work one of those days..."

"You do that, and I'm going to demand extra hours at my job." Taylor retorted, knowing he'd have to back down from it.

"You know you can't handle that with a baby. It's too much stress." Chad shook his head.

"Then you're not putting in more hours." Taylor replied. "There's another way around."

"Ok then you tell me what that way is." Chad answered.

Taylor sighed, knowing she had backed herself into a corner. "I'll let you know as soon as I think of it."

--page break--page break--page break--

"I'm serious, man." Chad told Troy the next day as he sat down in the Bolton's kitchen to have some coffee with his best friend. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Find a way to get more money." Troy shrugged. "Did you think about getting just a few more hours?"

Chad sighed, "Tay won't let me. She said if I do that she's gonna get more hours at her job. And that's not gonna be good for her or the baby." He picked his head up and raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell anyone yet, didya?"

"No, and I promised I'd keep it a secret." Troy rolled his eyes. "What, you don't trust me with a secret?"

"Nah, not that." Chad shook his head as he looked down at his mug. "Guess I'm just stressed is all."

"Look man," Troy started as he sat down across from Chad, "this is supposed to be a happy time. And you can't be happy by worrying about money problems or what you can and can't afford. Have you tried asking Kelsi and Ryan for some of Travis' things they don't need anymore?"

"I can't bother them with that." Chad replied. "Besides they should save them in case they decide to have another baby. Or if Sharpay and Zeke ever decide to have one."

"Yeah well I say we wish them luck with that later." Troy said simply as he put his coffee down. "But here it is in a nutshell - you need a plan."

"Yeah well our plan only covered two kids. Dylan and Cheryl. And we can't take any money out of Dylan's college fund for the new baby." Chad replied. "And we also can't force Dylan to dorm at a university so we can convert his room to one for the baby."

"Maybe it can share Cheryl's room." Troy suggested. "That way the two can share a room and by the time Dylan finishes college his room can easily become the baby's and he'll move out."

"I'm not even sure that's a possibility. And besides, if the baby turns out to be a dude how can he share a room with Cheryl? And when Dill starts college we can't force him to board with a baby." Chad replied.

"You can't have an answer for everything. How do you think Gabriella and I felt when we found out she was having twins?" Troy asked. "The room we were working on for the one baby had to be made for two and we had to squeeze in two of everything. Two cribs, two changing stations, two dressers...."

"At least you had a spare room. My house is only good for four. And we've already established that we can't convert a portion of the dining room into a bedroom, not for anyone." he said.

"Well what if I helped you pay for a few baby expenses?" Troy offered.

"You got four kids to think about, Troy." Chad shook his head. "Focus on them."

"So then who's supposed to worry about your family?" Troy asked.

Chad couldn't give a complete answer right away. Who did he have to help him out besides his friends? Troy had both of his parents to help them out of a jam when they needed help. Gabriella had her mother as well and she made plenty of money to contribute to them under any circumstance. Where was Chad's family? His sister was so busy traveling and they weren't even that close. His parents weren't around anymore. Taylor's brother died in the war and her sister had no memory of anyone including herself. So with those losses, Taylor's parents pretty much shut her out. Who did they have to support them?

"Me." Chad finally answered. "I can worry about them and take care of them."

"Dude, not by yourself." Troy sighed. "Your friends worry, too, you know."

"I know." he nodded. "And I appreciate that man, really. But I can handle it."

"You're not gonna do something crazy, right?" Troy asked hopefully.

"Dude, relax." Chad rolled his eyes. "It's not like I'm gonna sink to being a drug dealer or something. I'll figure something out."

"But I'm still gonna chip in somehow." Troy said. "I'll talk to the guys. We can all chip in for a big gift for the baby shower when it rolls around or something."

"Like what?" he asked doubtfully.

"Name it." Troy replied right away. "I mean it can't be something like a contractor but if you need new furniture or a crib or something we'll get them for you."

Chad wasn't one to beg for help. Sometimes he was even too stubborn to ask for help. But he knew he needed some help. And he couldn't put everything on Troy. "You know what, just don't worry about it." Chad said. "I'll handle everything."

--page break--page break--page break--

The night afterward, Chad was busy going through a few things he had. He had to get everything together, he knew it. At least then they'd have a little more money together and be able to afford everything they needed. But so far he wasn't having much luck. He couldn't find enough stuff to sell.

"What are you doing?"

Chad nearly jumped up at Taylor's voice. He turned and saw her in the doorway of their bedroom. "Just going through a few things we can do without." he answered casually as he continued moving objects out of the closet.

"Drop the act, Chad." Taylor said as she stepped into the room and sat down on their bed. "We're not getting rid of anything."

"Tay we need the extra money and you know it." Chad said. "And I'm not letting you work longer just cause I'm planning on it."

Taylor just shook her head. "Do you honestly think we're in that much of a predicament?"

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Taylor thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to explain it. "Do we need more money? It would certainly help. Is it the most important thing? That's up to you." She folded her arms and looked at him seriously, "Because where I'm standing we have something more important to worry about."

Chad sighed and nodded. He knew what Taylor was talking about and he knew she was right. "I was just trying to figure out how to help us through."

"It is sweet of you to care and to really want to take it in your own hands, but it isn't all about you." she said. "You'd be surprised what one can find out in a few days."

"Ok, you lost me." Chad said.

"I took out some money from the checking and savings accounts." Taylor explained. "And Dylan and I struck a compromise. He gives a small portion of his paycheck to us as long as helps us shop for the baby and he can get one little thing from each trip."

"How little are we talking?" he quirked an eyebrow.

"Something as simple as a book." Taylor answered. "And trust me, he refused to give us anything otherwise."

Chad chuckled. "Someone picked up on your stubbornness."

"Hey, he got it from you, too, and you know it." Taylor defended herself.

"So what's the shorter version of this?" Chad inquired.

"We won't have enough money for a contractor but we'll have plenty for new furniture and everything." Taylor grinned.

"You're joking?" his eyes widened.

"Do you expect me to joke much?" Taylor asked.

"Especially not this time." Chad smiled widely. "Tay, you think of everything! What did you do?" He pulled her in for a tight hug.

"Let's just say I actually spend more time looking through the bills and our accounts than you do." she giggled as she hugged him back.

--page break--page break--page break--

"So did you guys finally work something out or is there more arguing we need to worry about?" Dylan sighed at dinner.

"We don't argue that much." Chad said.

"Do you really?" Dylan asked doubtfully.

Chad shook his head. "That's not the point."

"Look, we finally worked out a few details and checked over a few necessities and we know what we'll need to start getting ready for." Taylor explained. She looked at Cheryl. "Cheryl, we're going to divide your room up evenly so the baby can share the room with you."

Cheryl dropped her fork. "What?" she gasped.

"We can't kick Dill out of his room. And when he starts college and he's still living here what's gonna happen when the baby starts crying at night?" Chad replied.

"Can't it move in somewhere else?" Cheryl begged.

"There's no other space in the house." Taylor shook her head. "And it's not moving into our room."

"Move it into the living room. I don't wanna give up my room." Cheryl moaned.

"Cheryl, we have to put our foot down with this." Taylor said calmly. "There's no other space in the house and you have plenty of free space in your room. We'll figure out the perfect way to divide the room up so then you can both share it and still have some privacy."

"Yeah well there won't be much with some baby screamin in my ear!" Cheryl argued. "I'm not doin it." She pushed her dinner away rom her and stormed away from the table.

"Cheryl, you sit back down here right now." Taylor scolded.

Too late; Cheryl had already stormed out of the dining room and up to her bedroom.

"What are we gonna do with her?" Chad sighed.

"Do you wanna divide up my room instead?" Dylan sighed.

"Dill, we're not doing that. End of story." Chad insisted. He sighed and rested his head on his hand. "Guess after all this we're still gonna have to look for a new house. Maybe we should count our losses while we're ahead."

"No, we're not selling this place." Dylan shook his head. "This is our home. Where are we gonna find a better one?"

"We know you're right Dill, but what other choice is there?" Chad asked. "We have enough money for the necessities but not for a contractor. We don't even have a garage to convert into an extra room or anything."

"And we don't have any extra rooms in here?" Dylan asked.

"Not unless there's one I don't remember." Chad shook his head. He picked his head up when he heard the phone ring. "Phone."

"I'll get it." Taylor said. She stood up and left the dining room the pick it up from the living room.

"So we're really gonna have to move?" Dylan asked in a disappointed manner.

"Not too far, hopefully. We'll stay close enough so you can finish school where you are. But now not only do we have to think about what furniture to get we'll have to figure out what kind of house we'll be able to afford and still have enough cash left over." Chad said.

"What about the deal Mom and I struck?" Dylan asked.

"It'll help, but I'm not sure how much." Chad shook his head. "And before you ask, no you're not putting in more than you already are."

"So then what are we gonna do when the baby comes?" Dylan questioned. "Dad we're supposed to be thrilled about this. How can we be thrilled if we got other things to worry about?"

Chad sighed. "I wish I knew." he admitted. "Maybe..."

"We got it!" Taylor exclaimed.

Chad stood up from his seat right away. "What'd we get?" he asked eagerly.

Taylor ran back into the dining room. "That was Gabriella on the phone. She talked to her mother and apparently she knows someone who can help us redecorate the house."

Chad didn't even care if it meant more than Troy might know about their expected addition. He was still lost on 'who can help us redecorate the house'. "Wait a minute...so are you saying..." he started with a smile.

"We got a contractor!" Taylor exclaimed. "One we can afford!"

"That means we'll have enough room for baby Danforth!" Chad grinned. "When?"

"Two weeks. We have that long to plan and everything." Taylor smiled.

Chad hugged Taylor and spun her around. "Yes, we're finally getting somewhere! We are problem-free!"

"Hey if you're that happy, imagine how thrilled Cheryl's gonna be when she finds out she won't have to share her room." Dylan chuckled with a smile.

"We gotta go tell her." Chad realized. "I'll go break the news." He ran upstairs. "Woo-hoo!"

Dylan leaned back in his chair laughing. "He sounds happy." he observed.

Taylor just smiled and hugged Dylan. "You might want to think about what you want to do with that portion of your paycheck, Dill. You can't force us to take it from you now."

--page break--page break--page break--

"So how did Cheryl take it?" Taylor wondered as she slipped under the blankets.

"You didn't hear her jumping for joy?" Chad asked with a chuckle.

Taylor giggled. "So she was happy."

"Ecstatic." Chad nodded. "She gets to keep her room and the baby will get their own room. Boy or girl."

"So on our next day off we'll start planning the room, right?" Taylor asked. "Not too big but not too small? Somewhere up here?"

"Definitely." Chad nodded in agreement as he sat down next to Taylor.

"And you're not going to put in more hours?" Taylor quirked an eyebrow.

"No more than just a couple a week." Chad promised. "And only if it's an emergency or the situation calls for it. And you're not gonna work more, right?"

"Of course not." Taylor shook her head. "Believe me, at least one person above me in that building will think it's a scam to sue them."

Chad chuckled. "Well, now you'll know what to do when you have a real reason to sue them." he joked.

"I'll be sure to remember that." Taylor giggled. "But until then, we need to get through this. So after a good night's sleep, I'll go in tomorrow and after dinner we can search through a few more catalogs. And you'll thank Troy and Gabriella?"

"Of course." Chad nodded. "Tomorrow on my break. I'll also see if Troy told anyone else about our little surprise. But I'm hoping now, cause I wanna keep them in suspense."

"Well they'll really be surprised then." Taylor smiled.

"Yeah but we won't be." Chad grinned as he got closer to Taylor and rubbed her leg. "Cause we'll know exactly what the baby's gonna be like."

"Oh will we now?" Taylor raised an eyebrow and smiled coyly.

"Yes we will." Chad nodded. "I can see it all right now."

"Care to share?" Taylor inquired.

"Gladly." Chad grinned. He switched his arm so it moved around Taylor and pulled her in close. "If it's a boy, he's gonna have my hair, of course," he paused and pecked her on the lips, "and your hair color," and again, "and my fast reflexes," he kept doing so for every thought, "my eyes...your smile...my athletic skills...your talent...and our stubbornness."

Taylor couldn't help but giggle. He was really trying to butter her up. "And if it's another girl?"

Chad only smiled and did as he did with the first assumption, "If it's a girl then she's gonna have your looks...probably my hair...and hair color...your lips...my smile...your brains...your confidence...my ego...your class...and my charm."

"Don't assume everything right off the bat." Taylor shook her head with a smile. "The possibilities go on."

Chad tilted his head so it would get closer to hers, the smile remaining on his face. "So how about we talk about them all night?"

* * *

Short chapter and lame-ish ending in my opinion, but I was also trying to get it finished before going to work. And sorry if that's often my excuse on a Friday but I also got distracted by TV. What? Degrassi was on and I got addicted. Not my fault. T_T Anyway, I'll put another chapter up tomorrow and it'll turn out better with a lot more going on. Don't worry, I got an idea that I know I'm not going to forget.


	12. Dinner with the Danforths

Well here be the nest chapter. And I'd like to say thank you for one suggestion on the upcoming baby's gender. If no one else wants to state what they would like to see, then I already know what it's going to be. Just saying. 0=) Anyway, also thank you to the reviews so far and everything will be more typed up for the next chapter due to my laziness.  
Disclaimer: Wait...who does own it? xD  
_Chapter Twelve Summary: In the midst of everything, Dylan is still a teenager; he wants to to be something more with his crush than just friends with benefits. So if he invites her over to eat with his family, how will it all go?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Twelve: Dinner with the Danforths  
**

"Dude, just ask her already." Cooper sighed. "You've been like this for weeks." He slammed his locker door closed almost in front of Dylan's face.

"How can I?" Dylan asked. "I mean, things are going great with me and Kiara. I don't wanna mess anything up."

"And you're not gonna." Cooper shook his head. "Look, don't be like Grady O'Malley."

"Who's he?" Dylan raised an eyebrow. Now he knew that sometimes Cooper had a knack for making up stories. But other times they were actually true - or to an extent.

"He was just a normal teenager who went to school here, just like us." Cooper explained quietly, almost in an eerie tone. "He had it all. Popularity, good grades, and a hot friend-girl. Not a girlfriend, just a friend who was a girl with benefits. Everyone told him that he needed to ask her to be his girlfriend before it was too late. But he never did. Two weeks later she dumped him before it could even start and she ran right to the quarterback of the football team. And they lived happily ever after. But Grady...well, poor guy was stuck living it up in a shack with five cats and a parrot."

Dylan just shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would a guy have five cats and a bird?"

"That's not the point." Cooper insisted. "What I'm sayin is, you gotta ask Kiara to be your lady before she goes running off to someone better. Someone who actually pays sports."

"You really think she would do that? I mean.." Dylan started.

"You'd be surprised." Cooper shrugged.

"Look I know opposites can attract, but other times people can be together just fine when they're similar." Dylan stated.

"Yeah, if they wanna get boring. You gotta make some kinda special gesture with Kiara to make her your lady and actually get yourself a girl instead of a crush. Or you'll just be the next Grady O'Malley."

Dylan blinked, holding in a gulp. Cooper turned and headed to his next class as the bell rang, leaving Dylan alone. Now it wasn't like Dylan to believe one of his friend's stories or anything, but he thought things were going really well with him and Kiara; he certainly didn't want to lose all that. There had to be a way to turn everything around somehow.

--page break--page break--page break--

When Dylan walked into his house after school, he saw his father doing the dishes in the kitchen. He held in a chuckle at the sight, only believing it when he saw it. Dylan walked into the kitchen and leaned out behind the counter. "Hey Dad, can I ask you something?" Dylan asked.

"If it's about the dishes, no comment." Chad muttered.

"Actually, it wasn't..." Dylan admitted, "but while we're on the subject, why are you doing the dishes?"

"Cause your mom's upstairs talking with the contractor while they keep doing that work for the room." Chad rolled his eyes. "These just came out of the dishwasher so I'm stuck drying everything."

"What, you jealous?" Dylan joked.

"No but I swear that guy wants to make a move on her." Chad mumbled.

"You're worrying too much." Dylan said. "But really, I need your help with something."

"Hold on, let me finish with this one dish." Chad said. He wiped off the last bit of it. "Ok, now I'm ready to do this the manly way." he said. He turned around to Dylan, only to reveal a red apron around his waist.

Dylan couldn't help but chuckle. "Nice manly side, Dad."

Chad blinked. He looked down to see the apron he was wearing and tugged it off as fast as he could. "Quick, talk man stuff before I do become girlafied!"

"How does talking about girls sound?" Dylan asked.

"Bring on the talk." Chad said.

"Well..." Dylan paused so he could figure out how to word it. "...when did you first ask Mom to be your girlfriend? Like back in high school when you first went out?"

"You're trying to impress your lady friend, aren't you?" he guessed.

"Well...kinda." Dylan admitted. "I wanna see what I can do to move to the next step. To be more than just friends who occasionally go on dates. But I don't know what to do."

"Dill let me tell you something." Chad explained. "From what I've learned, you don't always need to do something to impress a girl. I learned that the hard way. As long as you appreciate them and show them a good time, that usually makes them happy."

"So how did you get Mom to be your girlfriend?" Dylan wondered.

Chad thought back to high school for a minute as he went into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Well we just went out for a couple of months before I actually asked her. All I knew was that I like her for a long time and I wanted to go out with her. And when I wanted to ask her to be more than friends, I got nervous at the thought cause I didn't know how to ask her and we were so different, there was a high possibility of being rejected."

"But you don't get nervous." Dylan shook his head, sitting down next to him. "And what about not knowing if you'd be rejected unless you put yourself out there?"

"That is true," Chad nodded, "but you see, I didn't get the advice on girls from my dad. I got them from my mom. My dad didn't exactly approve of Taylor. He kept saying how basketball and brains didn't mix and thought she'd just be some kind of distraction to more 'important things' or that I needed someone who knew what I went through with sports and all. And her parents...well, her mom didn't approve of me at all. She would say how I wasn't good enough for Taylor and how I should stay away from her. And her dad...well, he had a mixed attitude. Some days we would get along and talk about a few things and other times it was the whole 'Ok you're getting under my skin, don't date my daughter' attitude."

"So what'd you do?" Dylan wondered.

"Well we were at the beach one night and we were trying to see who could push who in the water first. We ended up swimming after each other and I ended up catching her and spinning her around in the water. And I looked at her, and I asked her if she wanted to be my girlfriend." Chad said.

"Asked or stammered?" Dylan inquired.

"Little bit of both." Chad admitted sheepishly. "And at first I thought she was gonna turn me down. I mean there I, a wannabe entertainer, jock, crazy guy was with a smart, caring, beautiful girl, and I thought I didn't have a chance. But then she said yes. I got swept up in the moment...and then I kissed her."

"You're just a secret romantic aren't you, Dad?" Dylan asked with a smile, only a faint joking tone in his voice.

"Sometimes, maybe." Chad shrugged. "But if you wanna ask that to your lady friend then you gotta do it when you feel it's right, when you're ready to take that next step. And if she wants to wait, then you need to be able to realize that you could wait as long as you have to for that girl. It doesn't matter where you are or what you're doing. You do it when you feel it's right."

Dylan nodded. He placed his hands in his lap and looked down for a minute, contemplating what to do.

Chad could see some uneasiness with Dylan. Maybe there was a way to fix that. "Hey, how about you invite her over to dinner one night?" he suggested. "We can get to know her a little better."

"I don't know..." Dylan said slowly.

"Well if you know that we'll have no problems with her then maybe that'll make it easier on you. Just think about it. See if she wants to come over tomorrow night." Chad offered. "At least offer the idea. We'll be on our best behavior."

"Oh, it's not the 'we' I'm worried about." Dylan shook his head with a smile.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What do you...?" He stopped when he picked his head up, seeing Taylor come downstairs with the contractor.

"Ok so we can continue doing the work tomorrow at noon?" the contractor was asking.

"No, there's not going to be anyone around at that time. There really should be someone in here to keep an eye around." Taylor shook her head.

"Right." he nodded with a smirk. "So how about I come over when you get home from work? You can watch me all you want."

Chad could feel his blood boiling. What was this guy thinking? Chad wasn't about to see anymore of it. He got up from the couch and walked over. "I think you've done enough here for the day." Chad told the contractor, slipping his arm around Taylor. "Because _we_ have a family to feed and _we_ have a baby to prepare for. So if you don't mind, you can leave me and _my_ wife alone for the night so you can go back to your mother."

"At least my mother appreciates me." the contractor muttered as he walked out the front door.

Taylor raised an eyebrow and turned to Chad. "That was a bit rude, you know."

"Yeah, but I can't let some forty-five year old man hitting on you. He had that look in his eye." Chad said.

Taylor just shook her head. "You worry too much. I can take care of myself." she told him.

"I told him he was getting jealous." Dylan chuckled. "So how's it going up there?"

"We don't have much to do. The room is going to be a little smaller than we wanted, but there should still be enough room for everything." Taylor said, turning to Dylan. "As soon as the entire room is done we can start filling it up. No later than in a couple of months or we'll be procrastinating again. So what have you two been up to down here?"

"I was just giving him some more girl advice." Chad said.

"And should we be concerned?" Taylor quirked an eyebrow.

"Not unless you're worried about Dill getting himself a little girlfriend." Chad chuckled.

"Really?" Taylor blinked. She smiled at her son, "Dylan that's great."

"Tell me that when I actually ask her." his face fell. "I'm not even sure how to do it yet."

"I suggested that he invite her over to dinner tomorrow." Chad told her. "How does that sound?"

"That sounds doable. I'd love to meet her." Taylor agreed. "Ask her tomorrow, Dylan."

"Yeah. Like I said, we'll be on our best behavior." Chad nodded.

"And like I said, it's not the 'we' I'm worried about." Dylan said as he got up from the couch and went up to his room.

Chad raised an eyebrow. "What's he talking about?"

--page break--page break--page break--

Dylan took a deep breath as he stood in front of his homeroom the next day. The warning bell had just rang and he was trying to will himself to walk in. And he knew he had to, before it was too late. Not only would be then technically be late for class, but he'd have to miss out on his chance talking to Kiara. Finally letting out one more breath, Dylan stepped inside. He head over to the other side of the classroom, where she was setting up her books.

"Hey..." he greeted.

Kiara picked up her head and looked at Dylan. "Hey." she replied with a smile. "What's up?"

"Well, I was sorta kinda wondering..." Dylan started.

She raised an eyebrow. "What is it? Everything ok?" Her expression softened, "You didn't throw up again did you?"

Dylan chuckled a little, remembering his little incident when he first tried asking her out. "Not exactly. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

"Well, the bell's about to ring..." she stated.

"I know." he nodded. "But it's kind of important..."

And as soon as the bell rang, Dylan was cut off. He couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"We can talk after class." Kiara suggested.

"Ok." Dylan nodded in agreement. He walked over to his seat and could only, in between taking notes and listening to the teacher, count the minutes until homeroom was over. Even though it lasted forty-five minutes, Dylan couldn't help but feel impatient. He had to ask before he lost the nerve or confidence to. His head jumped up as soon as the bell rang and he scattered out of his seat. He leaned up against the hall and waited for Kiara to get out. As soon as she did, the two headed down the hallway together.

"So what did you want to talk about?" she wondered.

"Well, it's a Friday. And since we don't have school tomorrow, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight." Dylan said.

"Another movie?" Kiara inquired.

"Not exactly." Dylan rubbed the back of his head. "My parents have been hearing a lot about you. They wanted to know if you wanted to join us for dinner tonight."

"I don't know." she shook her head. "Isn't that something couples do?"

Dylan could hear a car crashing in his mind. It was telling him, 'you messed up'. He bit his tongue, trying to figure out what to do. "Well...like more of a friend thing." he tried covering. "I mean, if you don't want to..."

"I never said that, exactly." she shook her head.

"So what did you say?" Dylan asked, becoming slightly confused now.

"Is this really a good time for us to meet each others' parents?" Kiara inquired politely. "We're friends, Dill. Friends with benefits. You don't think it's too early in the game to meet the parents?"

"No, not really." Dylan shook his head. And there was no way he was telling her what he was thinking of. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to my house for dinner."

"So is that you inviting me, or your parents?" she giggled.

"Both, I guess." he smiled and shrugged sheepishly.

Kiara looked like she was thinking for a minute. She was silent, as was Dylan. She stopped at her next class and turned to face him. Kiara raised an eyebrow, almost as though she were studying him. Dylan wasn't sure; he just was hoping that it would end well.

Then a smile crept across the girl's face. "What time should I be there?"

--page break--page break--page break--

Around six, Dylan opened the door as soon as he heard a knock. He smiled when he saw Kiara standing in front of him. "Hey." he greeted.

"Hey." she replied with a smile. "Can I come in?"

"Of course." Dylan grinned. He moved out of the way so she could walk in, and then closed the door. "So, you bring your appetite?" he wondered.

"Yeah I did." she smiled. "May I ask what's for dinner?"

"We'll find out soon." Dylan shrugged.

"If they're selling more girl scout cookies we don't want any!" Chad called from upstairs.

Dylan chuckled. "It's Kiara, Dad." he replied. "She just got here."

"Oooh..." was his slow reply, only to be followed by an "ow". Dylan chuckled at the sound.

"What was...?" Kiara started.

"Don't worry. No one gets hurt in this house." Dylan grinned.

"Gee, thanks." Chad said sarcastically as he came down the stairs. "Guess I'm a no one then." He glanced at Kiara. "This is your 'friend' huh?"

"Dad..." Dylan started.

Kiara giggled. "No, it's ok." She extended her hand, "I'm Kiara. Nice to meet you, Mr. Danforth."

"Chad's fine." he told her, shaking her hand. "Trust me, I was lucky enough to answer questions at a job interview when they called me that. So should I get started on dinner?"

"Only if we're having mac and cheese." Dylan said. He whispered to Kiara, "It's the only thing he can make without doing something wrong."

"Hey don't insult my cooking skills." Chad joked.

"Trust me, hon, there's plenty to insult." Taylor stated as she walked into the room. "Culinary skills is at the top of the list."

"Thanks for the support." Chad said sarcastically.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes. "So Dylan, are you going to introduce us to your friend?"

"This is Kiara. Kiara, this is my mom." Dylan answered, surprised he hadn't turned red yet.

Kiara smiled and shook Taylor's hand. "Hi Mrs. Danforth."

"Hon, there's no need to be so formal." Taylor shook her head. "You can call me Taylor."

When are we having dinner?" Cheryl called as she ran into the house. "I'm hungry!"

"And who's this little cutie?" Kiara asked, eying the six-year-old.

"This is my little sister, Cheryl." Dylan answered.

"Who is filthy." Taylor observed, looking at Cheryl. "What were you doing out there?"

Cheryl looked up at her. "I was playing basketball in the back and then it bounced off the net and rolled in the dirt. So I chased after it." she answered.

"Go up and change." Taylor told her.

"I don't want to." Cheryl moaned.

"Cheryl. Change. Now." Taylor repeated.

Cheryl moaned and headed upstairs.

"Oh yeah, she was asking for that." Chad said to himself with a chuckle.

Taylor folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at him carefully.

"I'll go get some pasta going then." Chad decided right away as he headed into the kitchen.

Kiara raised an eyebrow. "How did you...?"

"When you've known Chad for as long as I have, you know what gets to him. And trust me, all men have that weak point." Taylor stated. "So, make yourselves comfortable. I'll start setting the table." She walked into the kitchen and gathered some dishes.

Kiara turned to Dylan and smiled. "I like them. They seem really nice." she observed.

"Yeah, they're not _that_ embarrassing." Dylan chuckled. "So, you wanna watch a little TV until it's time to eat?"

"Sure." Kiara nodded.

Dylan sighed with relief as Kiara walked over to the couch, him right behind her. Maybe tonight wouldn't be that bad.

--page break--page break--page break--

"So how's the food?" Chad asked Kiara as they sat down to eat. "Be honest, I can handle it."

Kiara giggled. "It's good. I don't see how anyone couldn't like it."

"Girl's got good taste." Chad whispered to Taylor.

"Well someone has to, because your family's never going to compliment your cooking." she teased.

"If no one wants to finish their food, can I have it?" Cheryl asked eagerly.

Kiara giggled and turned to Dylan. "Any more sisters we should know about?"

"Not yet." Dylan shook his head.

"So how is school?" Taylor wondered.

"It's good." Dylan said. "We had a test in Economics today."

"Yeah, it was pretty easy." Kiara nodded.

"Sounds like Dill's got good taste then." Chad noticed. "Runs in the family."

Kiara blushed and giggled slightly.

Dylan smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Kiara helps design a ton of posters for school events." he said. "She's also in a few of the academic clubs and goes to the art club sometimes."

"Really? Which clubs?" Taylor inquired.

"Scholastic decathlon and debate team. Just the usual." Kiara answered.

"You know, Taylor was head of the Scholastic Decathlon when we were in high school. And president of the Chem club." Chad stated.

"Really?" Kiara's face lit up. "That's so cool."

"Hey, I was co-captain of the basketball team." Chad said, wanting his turn for glory.

"That's nice, too." Kiara nodded.

"Sorry Chad, I think she's more interested in academics than sports." Taylor said. "Keep dreaming."

"No, that's interesting. I'm just not much of a sports girl." Kiara said quickly. "I'm afraid I'm not very athletic."

"Well you'd better watch out for Cheryl then." Chad said. "She runs around all the time."

"Hey!" Cheryl gasped, reaching to throw some pasta at Chad.

"Cheryl, we have company over. Behave." Taylor scolded.

"No, it's fine." Kiara giggled. "She's cute."

"She's also hyper, so sometimes you have to keep your eyes opened." Dylan said.

"You sure she's your sister?" Kiara teased as she reached in to take some more pasta.

Dylan paused and bit his tongue. Technically Cheryl wasn't his sister, at least not by blood. But the only ones who knew that Dylan was adopted were his parents, their friends, and Cooper. No one else.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure." he nodded after a minute.

--page break--page break--page break--

"Dinner was really good. I loved it." Kiara said as she headed for the door a few hours later. "And your parents seem really nice."

"Yeah, they are." Dylan nodded. "My dad's the funny one, my mom's the serious one. They work well together."

"I'd say that's an understatement, Dill." Kiara stated. "Thank you for inviting me over tonight. It was nice to meet them."

Dylan blushed a little. "So...are you leaving already?"

"I don't want to overstay my welcome." she shook her head.

"Really? We were going to have ice cream for dessert." Chad offered as he poked his head out from the dining room.

"I don't want to be any trouble..." Kiara started.

"No trouble at all." Chad shook his head. "What's a couple more hours, right?"

"Um, Dad..." Dylan said, signaling he didn't want to be that bothered at the moment.

Chad nodded. "I can take a hint." he held his hands up in defeat as he walked back into the dining room.

Dylan turned back to Kiara. "So...will you be staying a few more hours?"

A smile came onto Kiara's face. "I'd really like to." she said.

Dylan smiled nervously. "So...maybe we can do something tomorrow, too? Like a real date?"

"Which is different from the previous dates how?" she inquired.

"Well...maybe something more like...what...boyfriend and girlfriends...do?" he stammered, rubbing the back of his head.

Kiara blinked and her cheeks turned pink. "Dill...are you asking me to be your girlfriend...?"

"Kinda, yeah." Dylan admitted with a squeak. "I mean if it's too sudden..."

"No, no, it's not that..." she said quickly. She took a minute, seeming to gather herself, "I would love to be your girlfriend."

"Really?" Dylan's eyes widened.

"Really." she smiled and nodded. She pecked him on the cheek, making him turn bright red. "I'm going to see what I can help with in the dining room." she said before leaving the living room.

Dylan smiled crookedly and touched his cheek. He couldn't believe that was happening. Tonight was turning out to be a great night.

"Dylan's got a girlfriend! Dylan's got a girlfriend!" Cheryl chanted eagerly as she ran past him.

Dylan just let out a single chuckle and smiled shyly. "Yeah. Guess I do."

* * *

Yup, that was the next chapter. Easy to imagine around the point at which age everyone is, right? Just making sure. And as far as baby Danforth goes, just gotta wait a little longer. Keep the suspense going, you know? And see what else can be done and all. xD Sorry, it's not time to rush just yet. And if you have any other suggestions, feel free to say. As in overall. So I will be off now, and everyone have a happy Saturday. C=


	13. Let the Torture Begin

I'm probably putting this up a little later than usual, cause I got home late last night with dinner, meaning I was eating three chicken tenders at one in the morning. Not smart, but last night was crazier than most Saturdays. Anyway, with this chapter we're gonna rewind a bit.  
Disclaimer: Don't own it.  
_Chapter Thirteen Summary: Five-year-old Cheryl is getting ready for her first day of kindergarten, as well as Justina and Corrie. Will the three go through it together in the same class or will they each have their own issues? And what is up with one of the kindergarten teachers?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen: Let the Torture Begin  
**

"Come on Cheryl, you have to pick out an outfit." Taylor sighed. She held up a nice pair of blue jeans and a yellow t-shirt. "How about these?"

"No!" Cheryl insisted. "I don't wanna go to school. It's boring." She sat down on her bed and folded her arms.

"You can't assume that after the first day, even before the first day." Taylor replied. "Come on, Justina and Corrie are gonna be there."

"Justina's boring, too." Cheryl rolled her eyes.

Taylor sighed heavily and threw the current outfit in her hands back into the drawer, figuring they could straighten it up again later. "Cheryl, work with me here. This is kindergarten, your first day of elementary school. You have to go and you know it. Don't put up a fight."

"I don't wanna go." she repeated.

"Well sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do." Taylor told her. "So pick out an outfit, do your hair and teeth, and we'll take you out to the bus."

"Buses are smelly." Cheryl said.

Taylor folded her arms. "Cheryl Dominique, you are not getting out of this. You are going to school and taking the bus whether you like it or not. Understand?"

"NO!" Cheryl yelled. "I'm not going!"

Taylor groaned and stormed out of the room. She made her way downstairs and walked up to the kitchen counter, where in the kitchen she saw Chad working on making some lunch. "Your daughter is more stubborn that the two of us put together!"

Chad raised an eyebrow and looked up. "Something wrong?" he wondered. "And what do you mean 'my daughter'?"

"She takes after you." she rolled her eyes. "And the bus comes in less than an hour and she's refusing to put on anything for school, let alone get ready for it."

"Well, maybe she needs more persuasion..." Chad suggested.

"Then you go persuade her." Taylor said. "I'm sorry, but I can't deal with it anymore."

"Someone's impatient." Chad sang.

"Someone is going to be in trouble." Taylor replied.

Chad nodded, "I'd better go get her ready then." He saw Taylor nod in response, then he headed upstairs. Hopefully Cheryl wouldn't give him or her teacher a hard time.

--page break--page break--page break--

"I wanna go home." Corrie moaned as soon as she and Cheryl sat down in their seats in the classroom. "I miss my mom and dad. And why isn't Justy in our room?"

"Sorry to break it to you, but I like that she's in another room. She's boring." Cheryl replied.

"Nuh-uh." Corrie shook her head. "But it's not fair. Why can't our mos and dads come with us?"

"I don't want em here. They forced me to come here." Cheryl moaned, folding her arms. "What's so great bout school anyway?"

"We're spossed to learn and play games." Corrie shrugged.

"Still sounds boring to me." Cheryl said.

"Ok class, looks like everyone is here." the teacher greeted happily as she walked into the room. "Settle down everyone and face front, please." She waited for all of the students to face the white board in the front of the room, where she was standing. "My name is Ms. Flowski and I will be your teacher for the year. Welcome to your first official day of public education. Enjoy the days while they last, because it's only going to get worse year by year."

"Wow, how enouragy." Cheryl muttered rolling her eyes.

The teacher folded her arms and eyed Cheryl. "Something you would like to share with the class, Miss?"

Cheryl looked up at her. "No ma'am." she said coolly.

"Class, let me tell you how something works here." Ms. Flowski said. "If I catch anyone whispering or talking in class I will ask you to share it with the class. And fi you refused you will be spending the next ten minutes sitting silent in the corner in the back. No work or anything. Don't let it happen, you will fall behind. So, I will ask you again young lady," she eyes Cheryl, "something you would like to share with the class?"

"No ma'am." Cheryl repeated.

"Well considering it's only the first day I will let you off with a warning. But you will not be off the hook so easily tomorrow." Ms. Flowski warned. "Now, let us go around the room and introduce ourselves. You will say your name, how old you are, your brothers and sisters names and how old they are, and what your parents do. So we'll start with you." She pointed at Corrie.

Corrie looked down, a bit shy of speaking out loud to so many people. "Well...my name's Corrie Bolton and..."

"You'll have to speak up a little more. Some of us can't hear you." Ms. Flowski said.

Corrie sighed and reluctantly raised her voice just a little. "My name's Corrie Bolton and I'm five. I got two sisters and a brother. Gina's eight, Timmy's six, and Justina's five."

"Oh, so you have a twin I see." the teacher observes.

"Why isn't she in this class, too?" Corrie wondered.

"Because most schools try to keep twins in separate classes." Ms. Flowski explained. "We don't want them to grow too attached to each other and feel like they can't do anything without each other by their side. It's standard school rules no matter where you go, though there may be one year at most in your elementary school years when you would share a class with her, not including during lunch. Now, if you could continue, Ms. Bolton?"

Corrie nodded. "My dad works at his old high school and own the community theater and my mom manages a restaurant." she finished.

The teacher nodded. It seemed like she wouldn't have any problems with Corrie. She eyed Cheryl. "How about you. The trouble maker."

Cheryl rolled her eyes. "Cheryl McKessie-Danforth. I'm five and my older brother is seventeen." she said casually. "My dad works daycare and my mom's a secretary."

Ms. Flowski folded her arms. "A seventeen-year-old brother." she repeated. "How intriguing. Now I know I'll have to keep my eyes on you. Moving on now..."

Cheryl raised an eyebrow as the next student spoke. What did the teacher mean? She'd have to keep her eyes on her?

--page break--page break--page break--

"Hey, I'm going out for lunch on my break." Chad said as he walked by his boss at the daycare center.

She nodded in response. "An hour to eat, as usual."

"Got it." Chad nodded. "I'll be back by one." He pulled out his cell phone and started heading down the street to get some fast food, since it was the easiest thing to get around there. He hit the speed dial and waited for Taylor to pick up.

"Hello?" Taylor picked up from the other line.

"Hey," Chad grinned, "what happened to your secretary voice?"

"Because between noon and twelve-o-five you always call, therefore I know to expect you." Taylor replied. "Going to lunch?"

"Yup, a whole hour to scarf down any fast food I want." Chad replied.

"Well try not to eat too much. And nothing from McDonald's. It gave you gas last time."

"Ok, I'll make sure to stay away from all McDonald's in Albuquerque." Chad joked.

"All joking aside, there is something we need to talk about." Taylor stated.

"I didn't do it." Chad said right away.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Didn't do what?"

"Nothing...force of habit." Chad said. "So what do we need to talk about?"

"I got a call from Cheryl's teacher about fifteen minutes ago." Taylor answered.

"Ok, let me rephrase...what did Cheryl do?" Chad asked.

"It's not so much what Cheryl did as what she said. There was a minor backtalk, but apparently 'nothing to worry about'." Taylor explained, quoting the teacher. "But she had mentioned something about Cheryl saying that her brother was seventeen and herself five. Apparently she's not too fond of students who have teen parents."

"What?" Chad gasped. "I mean I know we almost were, but Dill wasn't-"

"I know, and I attempted to explain that to her." Taylor replied, now tapping a pencil against the desk. "But she wasn't one to listen. And I'm afraid that she might make life for Cheryl at school hell because of some assumption about us. She even said quite bluntly, 'I prefer to keep an eye on students who have been brought up much like your daughter'."

"I don't get it." Chad shook his head.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Put two and two together, Chad. I have a good mind to try and get Cheryl into another class just to avoid that teacher."

"How about I get out a little early today and talk to that teacher?" Chad suggested. "I can take Cheryl home while I'm at it."

"Are you sure that won't make things worse?" Taylor wondered.

"I hope it doesn't. But what else are we supposed to do? Let her push us and Cheryl around just because she thinks we're raising not just Cheryl, but Dylan, the wrong way when she knows nothing about any of us?" Chad replied.

"Of course not. It's just that sometimes you have a tendency to say things at the wrong time or happen to open your mouth." Taylor stated.

"Ok so what did you do when you talked to her?" Chad asked.

"Well what could I do? I'm sitting at work. I can't open my mouth or curse a teacher out." Taylor replied.

"Yeah that is true." Chad nodded. "But at least let me see what I can do, if I can make things easier. And besides," he added jokingly, "who can resist the hereditary Danforth charm?"

Taylor giggled. "Well you do have that charm to you. And trust me, I've seen it. Let me know how it goes?"

Chad smiled and nodded. "I will. I'll try and be home before five."

"Alright." Taylor agreed. "Now hurry up and get your lunch before you're late to work, too."

"Right." Chad said. "Talk to you later. Love you."

"Love you, too." Taylor replied.

Chad hung up his phone and took a deep breath. "Hopefully the teacher will fall for that Danforth charm." he said to himself. Because he knew if it didn't work out, there would be more trouble coming.

--page break--page break--page break--

As soon as the students entered back into the classroom, Ms. Flowski didn't even wait a moment before she spoke again.

"Well it seems that everyone enjoyed lunch today. And I'm sure the playground was quite enjoyable as well." she said. "Now, we must move on. You need to make sure you have all the books you need for tomorrow. One for English and the alphabet, one for math, and two more just in case. And don't forget to buy folders where homework will be kept in them. It can range from anything such as art to math to a bit of science."

"This just keeps getting better and better." Cheryl muttered.

"Young lady, you seem to be doing quite a bit of talking today. Perhaps I should make an exception for the first day and send you to that corner." the teacher folded her arms.

"No ma'am." Cheryl shook her head coolly. "I was just trying to state my opinion."

She merely nodded. "Well, let me tell you what happens to children who state the incorrect opinions. No free time, no pretend time, and a phone call home should it continue. Now would you like me to talk to your mother again?"

"Again? What do you mean again?" Cheryl asked.

"I told her about your first little outburst this morning. We had a very interesting chat. Such a shame she seems as headstrong as you." Ms. Flowski replied.

Cheryl glared at the teacher. For a five year old, she thought she was handling herself pretty well. Or she could have been watching a few too many shows a few years out of her league. One way or another, she was going to put her foot down.

"I think I'll go to that corner now." she said as she stood up and stormed to the back of the room.

"Now then," the teacher continued as soon as Cheryl sat in the corner and folded her arms, "is there anyone else who would like to face such a punishment?"

Corrie slowly raised her hand. "Aculy," she said as she tried to pronounce 'actually', "is there anyway I can go home now? I don't like it here much."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you have to wait until the final bell rings. That's not for a while longer." she shook her head.

"What if I felt sick?" Corrie asked.

"Then you'd be sent to the principal's office for lying." Ms. Flowski stated simply. "Now please remain in your seat so we can continue on now."

Corrie slowly put her hand down. When it came to friends and home, she was fairly hyper. But when it came to an unfamiliar environment such as school, including being with specific people who she didn't feel comfortable with, that's when her guard went up and she wanted to get out as soon as possible.

But unfortunately, it didn't look like anyone was getting out of this class any time soon.

--page break--page break--page break--

The final bell rang and the students left each classroom in single file to either wait for the parents outside along with the teachers or wait in the gym for their designated bus to arrive. As soon as Corrie found Justina waiting on the line for their bus, she practically ran over to her.

"Where's Gina and Timmy?" she asked right away.

"I think they come later cause it goes grade by grade or somethin." Justina replied. "Like how we get here first and then the first graders and whatever comes after that."

"Can we go home now?" Corrie begged. "I don't like kindeygaten."

"What are you talkin bout?" Justina asked. "It's tons of fun. We got to play games all day and sing songs. The teacher even gave us all pieces of candy."

"My teacher didn't do that. She got Cheryl in trouble." Corrie shook her head.

"But she always asks for it." Justina said.

"Not this time." Corrie said. "She even went to the lonely dark corner in the back. It was scary."

"Don't you go gettin in trouble, too." Justina warned. "Mama and Dad are gonna have fits if you do."

"I know." Corrie sighed. "But the teacher said we couldn't be in the same class either or else we'd get stucked together."

"My teacher said that, too. But we get to make new friends." Justina shrugged like it was no big deal. "It's fun." She glanced around the gym and waved to a couple of other kids she had met in her classroom, one of which was sitting in the line beside theirs waiting for his bus.

Corrie just sighed and pulled her legs into her chest. How could one person love school so much when someone else was so scared?

--page break--page break--page break--

Chad slowly stepped up to the classroom. It was three, exactly, and he knew the teacher would still be in there. It was time to find out if she was as bad as she sounded. Luckily, Chad had dealt with plenty of annoying teachers in his day. He would play jokes and disrupt class and everything. But it was also different back then. He wasn't discriminated against because of assumptions about his parents. Or anything else, for that matter. He was just hoping that this could all work out. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" he heard a woman's voice from inside.

"Um...I'm a parent of one of your students." Chad answered. "I'm here to talk to you."

"You have an appointment?" she asked through the cracked-opened door.

"No, but it's important." Chad said. "You even called my wife about my daughter earlier. I wanna know what's going on."

"Oh yes. _You_ parents. Enter, then." the teacher agreed.

Chad took a final deep breath and walked into the room. The teacher was sitting at her desk, her fingers laced together as she watched him expectantly. He looked at the middle-aged woman and then took a glance around the room. Even in the back he could see Cheryl sitting in a chair in an empty corner. Chad blinked as his head snapped back to the teacher.

"What is my daughter doing back there?" he asked. "Do you realize that if I wasn't here she could miss her bus?"

"She deserved to stay after class, Mr. Danforth." the teacher replied. "She snapped at me in the middle of class and was asking for a punishment."

"Who are you to criticize what she does?" Chad questioned. "It was her first day of school, have you considered that? And I'll have you know-"

"I'll have you know," Ms. Flowski interrupted, "that I do not tolerate back-talkers in my classroom. Nor do I approve of teen parents."

"Spare me." Chad couldn't help but roll his eyes. "My wife told me you fed her the same thing."

"Yes, and she didn't put up much of an argument either." the teacher stated.

"She was at work. What was she supposed to say over the phone to you that wouldn't get her in trouble?" Chad asked.

"Well it's her problem then now, isn't it?" Ms. Flowski asked. "And I will not have your daughter be one of my problems."

"Do you treat all kids the way you do based on what they say about their families?" Chad questioned, becoming more irritated by the minute. "What do you know about my family?"

"I know all I need to. You have a pitiful paying job and you had your first child when you were what, seventeen?" Ms. Flowski shrugged as though she were talking to another child.

What Chad wanted to say was, 'no, we would have had one when we were eighteen' but he didn't. That much was in the past. And he wanted to make sure to lower his voice so Cheryl couldn't hear him. As far as their ages went, both Cheryl and Dylan knew their parents were in their thirty's. But Chad had adopted Dylan not too long after college, before the boy was even ten.

"My son is adopted." Chad said in a low yet harsh voice. "And for all you know, some of the children in your own class could be adopted. Do you hold that against them? Or do you just make assumptions from what they tell you or what they look like?"

"The way I teach my class is none of your concern. Do not make me give you a detention." Ms. Flowski warned.

"I've gotten enough detentions in my life not to be scared of them." Chad informed her. "And for the record, the way you treat my child is my concern. And if you have any other kids in your class that I happen to know, such as one of my friend's twins who happens to be a month younger than Cheryl, then I have the right to worry just as much about them."

The teacher was about to counter when there was a knock on the door.

"Is there something going on in here?" a distinguished man inquired.

"No, Principal Hayes." Ms. Flowski replied. "Just a parent-teacher discussion."

"On the first day back?" he quirked an eyebrow. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is this teacher." Chad said, standing up straight. "She was keeping my daughter after class when she could have missed her bus. And apparently, aside from a minor squabble between the two, the teacher is holding something against Cheryl just because of her brother and his age."

"What seems to be the issue then?" the principal wondered.

"The issue is that not only is she taking this out on my daughter, she's taking it out on me and threatening to give me a detention just for standing up for my family." Chad replied.

The principal eyed Ms. Flowski suspiciously.

"Principal Hayes, who are you going to believe?" she asked as she stood up. "Some teen father or someone who has worked here for eighteen years?"

"I told you, my son was adopted." Chad hissed.

Principal Hayes held up a finger. "Ms. Flowski, the parents are not as much of your concern as the children are. I would like to see you in my office, pronto." He didn't even give the teacher a chance to argue before he turned back to Chad. "Can you and your daughter make it in early tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure." Chad admitted. "Can we do it the day after tomorrow, just in case?" That would give him more time to discuss everything with Taylor and see where they should go from there, not to mention give him more time to get the story straight from Cheryl.

"Seven a.m. then." the principal agreed. "Try not to be late."

"Understood." Chad nodded.

The principal turned back to ms. Flowski. "Meet me in my office, now." he ordered. The two men watched as the angry teacher removed herself from her desk and left the classroom. The principal turned his head back to Chad once more. "If you could just wait for me to converse with Ms. Flowski, we can set the basis for our meeting and continue that morning. Feel free to remove yourself and your daughter from this classroom as well. Won't be much longer now."

Chad nodded as the principal exited the classroom. When did the first day of kindergarten ever get so complicated?

--page break--page break--page break--

"Wait...so after all that the teacher isn't getting fired?" Dylan gasped at dinner that night.

Chad rolled his eyes and shook his head. "When I meet with the principal we're gonna talk deeper into that. But as of right now, just for the remainder of the week, she's on probation. There may or may not be a sub to take over for her the rest of the year. But the school needs teachers and they can't afford to let one go."

"That's kinda stupid." Dylan stated.

"I said school would be stupid." Cheryl muttered, playing with her food.

"Well if we had known that you would have a teacher like you did today, we wouldn't have sent you there." Taylor said.

"Really?" Cheryl asked.

"Well...no, not really." she shook her head. "We would have just found you a different teacher."

"Well believe it or not, Cheryl was as quiet as a mouse when I talked to her teacher." Chad stated. "She was in the corner the teacher sent her to the whole time."

"I was there since after lunch." Cheryl said.

"For that long?" Taylor gasped.

"Yeah, and she said if someone gets sent back there too much they'd fall behind and get in trouble and fail." Cheryl nodded.

"Hey, I was almost sent back there with you." Chad interrupted. "The teacher almost gave me a detention just for being there."

"Well that wouldn't be a surprise." Taylor said. "Not with all the detentions you received back in high school."

"Hey, you got one, too." Chad gasped.

"Yes, courtesy of you and opening your mouth." Taylor nodded. "So my detention was your fault."

"So do you think that means Cheryl's gonna get a lot of detentions, too?" Dylan wondered.

Chad and Taylor stopped eating and slowly looked at Cheryl, who was now stuffing her face with food. They had observes how much she took after Chad, even as a baby. That could only mean....

"Now I'm gonna know how it feels to get a lot of phone calls about my kid being in trouble at school." Chad realized. "Not normal."

"Let's just hope that wouldn't be for a few years." Taylor said. "Never have I pictured one of my children getting into so much trouble from day one."

"Well, at least one of them turned out right." Chad joked, referring to Dylan. "Not a single phone call home since he started, except from the nurse to take him home."

"Well, while we're on the subject of families..." Dylan started, "...there's still some business that we have to take care of."

Chad raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?"

"Can we go into the backyard after dinner?" Dylan asked. "We can take care of it then?"

"Sure." Chad agreed. "After today I think we could all use something family related."

--page break--page break--page break--

As soon as they were done with dinner, Chad, Taylor, and Cheryl went out to the backyard and waited for Dylan. Cheryl automatically jumped onto the swing set and started playing on them.

"So what do you think Dill's got planned?" Chad wondered.

"Not sure." Taylor shook her head. "But I know this much - you did pretty good today."

"I did?" Chad raised an eyebrow.

"I never would have pictured that instead of being on the end of a teacher's punishment, you'd be fighting against one." Taylor said. "Do you want me to go with you at the meeting with the principal?"

Chad smiled and shook his head. "Nah, it's all good. I'm a big boy, I can handle myself."

"Well you'd better, or else I'd be raising two five-year-olds." Taylor replied.

Chad chuckled. "Don't worry. You're not married to a five-year-old."

"Ok, I'm out!" Dylan called as he ran into the backyard with a camera in his hands. He started setting it up on a table.

"What are you doing?" Chad wondered.

Dylan looked up for a minute. "Well, after a crazy first day of school, I thought we could all use something good out of it. So a new family portrait seemed like the perfect idea."

The adults smiled at the thought. Chad could remember the family portrait from their wedding that was in Cheryl's room. He always imagined what the next one would be like, with the four of them instead of just the three.

"I think it's a great idea." Chad grinned.

"Cheryl, come over here. We're taking a picture." Taylor called.

"Coming!" Cheryl replied. She jumped off the swing and ran over to her parents.

"Almost finished?" Chad asked Dylan.

"Yeah, just working on the timer and the zooming in and out." Dylan nodded.

"We'd better set up then." Chad said. He and Taylor stood in the same positions that they did in the first portrait: side by side with a hand around one's waist and the other on the others' shoulder. In the first portrait, Dylan had stood in the center, each of his parents having a hand on his shoulder. So now Cheryl was the one standing in the center between her parents, and as soon as Dylan finished setting the camera up he got beside Chad, being just a little shorter than him. The family smiled at the camera and a minute later the photo was snapped. All that was left was to figure out where to put it. That, and to get through the year in one peace.

* * *

So there we have it, another chapter. I thought there could be something extra by having a problem teacher. Really, did we ever see something like that in HSM? Just a little twist, you know? So that's all for now, I will see when the next update will be!


	14. Family Ties

So while I was sleeping last night I had a dream about these oneshots. And there was a really nice family moment in it so I'm hoping to recreate it in this chapter. And this is the one I think a lot of you have been waiting for. So, I also want to thank lilmissmonique for being the only one to put in their opinion about the baby's gender. C=  
Disclaimer: We'd all love to own it, don't we?  
_Chapter Fourteen Summary: Well, it's finally time. The newest addition to the Danforth family is about to arrive. How is the family going to handle the first couple of days?  
_

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen: Family Ties  
**

"Tay, what are you doing?" Chad asked as he walked into the kitchen.

"I'm making breakfast." Taylor shrugged.

"No, you're not." Chad shook his head, taking the pan away from her. "You're nine months pregnant. You're not overworking yourself."

"You said that the first time." Taylor folded her arms. "I'm a big girl, I can make breakfast just fine."

"I know, and I can make something too." Chad replied. "Besides you've been kinda stressed lately and that's not good for either of you."

"I am not stressed." she said seriously.

"What happened last week then?" Chad asked. "You know, about your job?"

"I just don't want a repeat of losing that like the first one." Taylor shrugged.

"Yeah, well I still don't wanna take any chances." Chad said as he put the pan down and wrapped his arm around her.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Chad I promise, the baby and I are perfectly fine."

"I'll believe you even more if you go sit down and relax a while." Chad said. He tried leading her to the living room, but Taylor held her ground.

"Honey, you don't need to worry. We're doing perfectly fine." Taylor told him. "Maybe you need to relax. Look, the baby's room is all set up, we've been prepared for this, we have everything we need...."

"I know." he nodded. "But that's not gonna stop me from worrying. I have the right to."

"Then how about this," she suggested, "I'll pour myself some water and then I'll go sit down?"

"Alright." Chad agreed. "But don't risk falling in case you have another contraction."

"They've died down a little. I think it's getting tired of putting me through that." she stated, opening the refrigerator.

"I'm just saying, there should be more when the due date gets closer. And the due date is tomorrow." Chad shrugged.

"I know when my own due date is." Taylor rolled her eyes, taking out a glass and pouring herself some water.

As usual, Taylor had to sound like she knew exactly what she was doing, acting so calm and collected. Pretty typical. But Chad wasn't so sure. That was probably his own worries kicking in, but his heart raced every time he thought about taking her to the hospital. He was still haunted by the thought of only leaving with one, despite the fact that everyone told him he had nothing to worry about. Chad snapped out of his thoughts, remembering that they'd need to start freaking out tomorrow.

He flipped the pancake batter in the pan and then placed it back on the stove before turning to check on Taylor, who was pouring a little more water into the glass. Chad raised an eyebrow as he then looked at the floor. "Tay, did you spill some of that water?"

Taylor stopped what she was doing and looked at the floor, then back at Chad. "No..." she said slowly. There was a moment of silence before she put the jug and glass of water down and gently placed her hand on her stomach as she started breathing. "Chad..."

"I'll go get the stuff." he said quickly. He started running upstairs, then zipped back around to turn off the stove, and then made another mad dash up the stairs.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"Can this waiting room get any more crowded?" Cheryl asked as she sat on a chair. "There's like no room in here."

"You're only sayin that cause we had to leave in the middle of the movie." Corrie said, swinging her legs back and forth.

"They were getting up to the part where we'd find out the dumpster framed the truck!" Cheryl gasped.

"It was just a kid's movie with talking inanimate objects." Ryan stated, balancing his one-year-old son Travis in one of his arms, who was sucking his thumb.

"With a buncha comedy and action." Cheryl shrugged.

"And speaking of waiting rooms," Zeke held up a finger as he looked at his wife, "when are we gonna ask people to come in here for us?"

Sharpay sighed and rolled her eyes. "Zeke, when it happens. Please, can we not think about this now?"

"Alright." Zeke agreed. "When we get home." It was just one of the many times Zeke had tried to convince Sharpay to get ready to have at least one kid, since he had always wanted one. Unfortunately, this was not the time to discuss family matters.

Troy walked back into the room as he closed his cell phone. "I called my parents to tell them what was going on." he said. With Troy and Chad being best friends, their families had gotten fairly close as well; it was only fair to let Troy's parents in on the news. "They should be here in a couple of hours tops."

"Well we don't know how long it's going to be." Ryan said. "You told us how long Gabriella was in here last time." He quickly turned to Gabriella, "No offense of course."

"None taken." Gabriella replied.

Ryan turned back to Troy. "My point is, who knows how long this could take. What if it even takes days?"

"That was in one movie, Ryan." Troy rolled his eyes. "You take those things way too seriously."

"I do not!" Ryan gasped. He spun around to Kelsi, "Do I?"

"Sometimes..." Kelsi answered slowly. "Besides, it's not like delivering a baby's only going to take five minutes."

Just then, Chad rushed out into the waiting room, making a few of them jump in surprise. "Baby's coming!" he exclaimed before running back in.

Kelsi raised an eyebrow. "How long ago did they get here...?"

"Fifteen minutes ago. And then figure in the time to get into the room..." Gabriella started.

"Wow that baby's really ready to come out." Kelsi realized.

Cheryl tugged on Dylan's arm. "When can we go see?" she asked impatiently.

"Not yet." Dylan shook his head. "We have to wait."

Troy walked over to the two. "Don't worry. You two will be the first ones in. The rest of us can wait."

"Yeah but I still have to wait for mine." Zeke muttered.

"Zeke, not now." Sharpay scowled.

"Good thing we're in a hospital." Gina stated. "Cause it looks like someone's bout to get in trouble."

"Yeah." Justina nodded. "Should we get some popcorn?"

--page break--page break--page break--

Cheryl sighed an hour later as time seemed to pass so slowly. "How long has it been now?" she asked.

"I think we all lost count after ten minutes." Troy admitted. "And it didn't help that we didn't really have much coffee before coming here."

"No wonder Zeke fell asleep before." Dylan stated. "That's why he always has at least one cup when he's at the bakery."

"Ok, you've been working there way too long." Sharpay informed him. "But at least that means less nagging me about kids."

"Sharpay I really think you're getting too worked up about this." Gabriella stated.

"Oh keep out of this, Gabriella." Sharpay huffed.

Gabriella closed her mouth and leaned back in her seat.

"Should I go in and check on them?" Troy wondered. "Chad hasn't even come out to give us an update."

Dylan raised an eyebrow and walked over to Troy. "Everything's ok in there, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Yeah." Troy nodded. "I'm sure they're both fine."

--page break--page break--page break--

Chad remained silent as he stroked Taylor's hand. He sat beside her bed and moved a few bangs out of her face with his free hand. He smiled as he saw her stir a little. "Well, look who's finally awake."

Taylor's eyes fluttered as she turned her head to look at Chad. "How long was I out for?" she yawned.

"Bout an hour, I guess." Chad said. "You barely even had to do anything. The baby did all the work."

Taylor sat up slightly and rubbed her forehead. "It came out that easily?"

"Yeah, she really wanted outta there." Chad chuckled.

"Oh good, because here I was thinking it would be so much longer-" she started. Taylor stopped and blinked. "She?"

Chad smiled and nodded. "We got ourselves a girl."

"That's amazing." Taylor grinned as she wrapped her arms around Chad. "Did everyone see her yet?"

"Nah," he shook his head as he pecked Taylor on the cheek. "You were so tired and fell out like a light. They could all wait out for a while."

"You didn't tell Dylan or Cheryl either?" she asked.

"Keeping them in suspense." Chad replied. "Besides, I wanted to see her before anyone else."

Taylor giggled and rested her head on Chad's shoulder as he moved to sit on the bed beside her. "You want everything, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." he chuckled. "And after talking so much about what the baby would look like we're finally gonna know."

"I can't wait to see her." Taylor smiled.

Chad was about to open his mouth again when the doctor walked over. "Well, look who's awake." the doctor observed. "Sleep well?"

Taylor picked her head up and nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I didn't even realize I fell asleep."

"Well, like mother like daughter." the doctor grinned. "As soon as she stopped crying she was out like a light." He handed the baby over and left them to admire.

Taylor took the baby in her arms and smiled down at her. She looked up at Chad as she felt his eyes on the both of them. Chad only smiled as he stared at the newborn. His eyes then fell on Taylor, the smile staying on both of their faces.

"She's adorable, Tay." he said.

"You're only saying that because she looks like you." she giggled.

"Ok yeah, she does have my hair." Chad chuckled in response.

"And your skin tone." Taylor added as she playfully poked the baby's nose, which caused her to stir yet almost look like she was giggling. "And your smile. And your eyes."

Chad squinted to try and get a better look. "Nah, I think she's got your eyes. And your hair color."

The baby blinked and looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings, or what she could see of them. Taylor smiled and gently held out one of her fingers for the baby to grab onto. The baby didn't seem to do much, but the finger was close enough for her to grab with her tiny hands.

"Wow...she's so little." Chad realized. He put his hand under the baby's head, where Taylor's other hand was also resting, the baby herself mainly on her lap. "Look at that.." Chad admired, "her whole head can fit on my hand."

Taylor giggled. "Don't get too comfortable Chad. We have to let everyone else see for themselves."

"Yeah, you're right." Chad remembered. "I'd better go get Cheryl and Dylan. They gotta see their new sister." He kissed Taylor on the head. "Be right back." he told her before getting up and heading out to tell the others.

"Well well well," Troy folded his arms as he saw Chad finally come out. "Someone's looking happy. Baby finally pop out?"

Chad chuckled. "Baby popped out an hour ago."

"What?" Troy gasped.

Gabriella stood up out of her seat. "Why didn't you tell us this before?" she questioned. "We've been waiting out here for at least that long!"

"She's cranky when she has to rush a cup of coffee in the morning." Troy muttered, referring to their rushed breakfast before arriving at the hospital.

"Would you believe me if I told you Taylor actually fell asleep after delivering the baby?" Chad asked innocently.

The group exchanged glances before agreeing unanimously, "No!"

"Well she did." Chad said. "She woke up five minutes ago. I just got to see the baby, too."

"So when do we get to see?" Cheryl asked eagerly.

"You'll get to see now." Chad smiled at his kids. "Follow me."

"Hey, what about the rest of us? You're still keeping us in suspense?" Troy asked.

"Yup." Chad nodded with a chuckle as he took Dylan and Cheryl into the waiting room.

Ryan raised his hand. "I just have one question."

Sharpay rolled her eyes. "No Ryan, we already discussed this. There was never any stork or relation to Ashton Kutcher involved."

"No, not that." Ryan shook his head. He slowly pointed to Zeke, who was still sound asleep in his seat. "How did he sleep through all that just now?"

--page break--page break--page break--

"Ok, there is no way we're ever gonna lose her." Cheryl stated as she looked over the baby.

"Hey, you're only saying that cause she's got my hair." Chad said defensively.

"Also explaining how we couldn't lose you, either." Taylor stated.

"Everyone's really gonna love her." Dylan agreed with a smile. "They're gonna be so surprised when they see how tiny she is."

"Tiny would make a pretty good nickname." Chad grinned. "Like Tiny Tina. Or Tiny Trina."

"I kind of like that name." Taylor said.

"Which one?" Chad asked with a confused look. "Tiny?"

"Oh yeah, cause she really looks like she'd grow up to be a wrestler." Cheryl joked.

"Not that." Taylor rolled her eyes. "Trina."

"Yeah, it does kinda have a nice ring to it." Chad nodded. "Trina McKessie-Danforth." He raised an eyebrow from confusion, "Wait a minute, something's missing..."

"A middle name?" Taylor offered.

"It would be a good idea. It took me forever to get a middle name." Dylan said.

Cheryl cocked her head. "Like five hours?"

"Yeah...that's it..." he nodded slowly. Truth was, Dylan didn't actually get a middle name until he was adopted, but he still hadn't told Cheryl that. So in the meantime, let her think what she wanted. "Oh hey, what letter should it start with?"

"Well we could keep it going with a letter from each of our names." Chad suggested. "It worked with Cheryl."

"And Dylan." Cheryl added.

"Which means Trina's gonna have her middle initial from me, too." Dylan grinned. "And the sound of Trina D does have a nice ring to it."

"But not something common like Danielle or Darla." Cheryl wrinkled her nose. "There's three Danielle's in my class and too many people like the name Darla. Too cutesy."

"Oh come on, Trina's gotta have a cute middle name." Dylan stated. "And it's gotta have a nice ring to it."

"Well, Trina Danielle and Trina Darla don't have nice rings to them." Cheryl replied.

Chad and Taylor couldn't help but laugh at the kids argument. They had forgotten that Dylan was on a field trip when Cheryl was born so he didn't assist with the naming process. But still, he did quite like the end result.

"We'd better hurry up and think of a name before the guys get impatient again." Chad stated.

"Well, if it ends in an 'a' it would be too repetitive." Taylor stated. "Maybe something more like-"

"Ok, we waited out there long enough." Troy interrupted as he walked into the room, with most of the others following him. Only so many people could fit in the room and Zeke was still asleep. So Troy and his family decided to join in and then the others would follow shortly after. "So, where is the little baby?"

Chad chuckled. "'Little' is an understatement, dude."

"What do you mean?" Troy quirked an eyebrow.

"See for yourself." Taylor smiled as she let them get a better look at the baby.

"Oh my God..." Gabriella cooed. "She's adorable."

"Yeah, and we knew it wouldn't be too long before someone came out with a fro." Troy teased.

Chad chuckled and patted his curly hair. "Yeah well, she had to get her good looks from somewhere." He smiled and put his arm around Taylor. "Or at least half of them."

"So does she have a name to go with that?" Troy asked.

"Dolores!" Cheryl exclaimed, thinking of a middle name.

"Deanna!" Dylan said at the same time.

"What?" Gabriella giggled.

"They were trying to come up with a good middle name." Chad said.

"Can we help? Can we help?" Corrie asked eagerly, jumping up and down.

"But she already has a name." Taylor stated.

"Well then don't keep up the suspense." Troy said.

Taylor smiled, "Trina. Trina Delilah McKessie-Danforth."

"You sure that's not too cutesy?" Cheryl wondered.

"I think it's perfect." Chad smiled. "It suits her."

"Let us see!" Justina insisted, trying to get a better look. "Can we see?"

"Here, I'll show you." Chad said. He took Trina from Taylor, only to have her start crying. Chad blinked and tried rocking her. "Hey, calm down, Trina. Calm down. It's just Dad."

"I don't think she's too fond of you, Dad." Troy joked.

"Here, let me try." Taylor offered as she took Trina from Chad. She rocked her for a minute, and that seemed to do the trick.

"Wow. I must be a really horrible parent." Chad attempted to joke.

Taylor just shook her head. "Not a chance."

"Hey, she's probably just cranky." Dylan suggested. "Give her some time, she'll warm up. Cheryl warmed up to Troy."

"Huh?" Cheryl asked.

Gabriella giggled. "When you were born and Troy tried to hold you, you wouldn't let him."

"Were we bad like that, too Mom?" Corrie asked.

"No, of course not." Gabriella shook her head. She turned to her friends. "We'll go get the others so they can meet the baby." she said. "You guys must be tired."

"I wasn't the one who fell asleep." Chad said defensively.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

A few days later everyone was back at home. It was pretty quite, for the most part, at least aside from the few times that Trina woke up crying. She started warming up to Chad holding her a bit, but didn't always let him do it for too long. Even as Chad tried rocking her to sleep Trina would continue crying.

"Maybe you need to sing to her." Taylor suggested over the crying.

"I don't think she'd listen to me." Chad shook his head. "Wish I knew why she hated me so much."

"You know that's not true." Taylor said as she walked over. She took Trina out of Chad's arms and walked back over to the chair in the nursery. She rocked her gently, and that seemed to calm her down a little. "Come here." she told Chad.

Chad raised an eyebrow and walked over, sitting down on one of the chair's arms. "What do you want me to do?" he wondered.

"Let her pull on your hair." Taylor said.

Chad chuckled. "You're joking, right?"

"Maybe it'll calm her down." Taylor offered.

"You just wanna see a baby play with my hair." Chad joked as he moved his head within reach of Trina.

Taylor giggled and helped take Trina's hand so she could reach Chad's hair better. As soon as Trina's fingers wrapped around one of his curls, only a faint tug came from her touch.

"She like that?" Chad asked, the bangs hanging in front of his face making it a bit difficult for him to see.

"I think she does." Taylor nodded with a smile. She gently pulled Trina away from Chad, making him able to sit up straight. Chad smiled and playfully tickled Trina a bit.

"Guess she likes that, too." he grinned.

"Come on, let's get her to bed." Taylor smiled. "We've still got dinner to make." She got up from the chair and walked over to the crib, where she put Trina. But she couldn't get out fast enough, with Trina grabbing onto her finger. "Trina, let go." Taylor said.

"Easier said than done. She doesn't hate you." Chad joked.

"Hey. We interrupting anything?" Dylan wondered as he walked into the room with Cheryl.

"No, just us trying to put Trina to sleep." Taylor shook her head.

"Well, we took the last family portrait of us, like the one in my room." Cheryl said. "Dill thought it'd look better in here than in the living room."

Dylan nodded and put it on a nearby dresser. "Just to keep the portrait thing going." he said.

"It's a great idea." Chad grinned.

Dylan smiled and nodded. "I'm just gonna head into my room then." He headed out of the nursery.

"I bet I can make Trina let go and get to sleep." Cheryl piped up. She walked over to the crib and tried making funny faces. Trina let go of Taylor's finger, only seeming a bit scared. But then Cheryl made a face that actually did make her laugh.

"Think you can keep an eye on her?" Chad chuckled.

"Uh-huh." Cheryl nodded eagerly.

"Just call us if you need any help." Taylor said.

"Oh don't worry." Cheryl shook her head. "She'll do that for me."

"We'll get ready to start dinner then." Chad said. He and Taylor walked out of the nursery. "Think the girls'll be ok in there?" he wondered.

"Chad, we're out of the hospital now. You can stop worrying." Taylor giggled. "They're fine." She stopped in front of Dylan's room when she saw the teen just sitting on his bed. "You seem distant." she observed.

Dylan's head shot up towards his parents. "Nah. Just thinking is all."

"Want us to join you?" Chad wondered.

"Sure." Dylan nodded.

Chad and Taylor walked over to his bed and each sat on a side of Dylan. There was a brief moment of silence before Chad broke it. "So what are you thinking about?" he wondered.

"A few things, I guess." he admitted. He turned to Chad. "Trina just doesn't appreciate you yet Dad. She'll get used to you. And she's lucky to have you. And I may know who my real dad is, but as far as I'm concerned I've got two dads. And I'm glad you're that dad."

"Hey, what do you think I'm here for?" Chad joked with a smile.

"No, not just that." Dylan shook his head. "You and I are nothing alike but we spend time together all the time. And I like spending that time with you, even if I never understand what's going on."

"You don't need to know what's goin on all the time just to have some father-son time." Chad said. "Hey, I know you probably got your artistic skills from your 'biological parents' but you got plenty of stuff from us, too. The brains, the talent, the sense of humor, the stubbornness...that doesn't just come from being with people for a long time. That comes from family. And as far as I'm considered, you are my son. That's not gonna change any time soon."

Dylan smiled and hugged Chad. "Love you, Dad."

"Love you too, Dill." Chad replied with a grin. He hugged Dylan back and playfully rubbed his back.

Dylan chuckled and backed away. "Hey, I don't have much hair left up there." he joked.

"Oh don't worry, you won't have any hair up there after I'm through with you." Chad laughed.

"Ok, enough roughhousing. You don't want to break anything, including Dylan." Taylor giggled as she pulled Dylan away from Chad.

"You always ruin my fun." Chad whined jokingly.

Dylan chuckled at his dad's reaction. "Thanks Mom."

"What, for ruining his fun?" she smiled.

He chuckled again. "Nah, not just that." He turned to face her, "I mean for everything. Look, I have no idea who my birth mother is, and part of me wants to know more about her so I know more about where I came from, and I owe at least that to myself. But the thing is, part of me doesn't wanna know more about her because as far as I'm considered I already have a mom. Cheryl and Trina are lucky to have you since before day one and I'm lucky just to have you at all. You're my mom and that's never gonna change. And I don't know what I'd do without you."

Taylor blinked back tears at Dylan's sensitivity. Neither she or Chad even knew Dylan had been keeping feelings like that about either of them bottled up for so long. She rubbed his head and then moved her hand down to his shoulder. "Honey, you don't have to thank me for anything. It's what I'm here for. And you did grow on me pretty quickly. But if it wasn't for you, your father and I may not have gotten back together. we owe a lot more to you than you realize. We always said you were family. That's never going to change."

Dylan smiled as he wrapped his arms around Taylor. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you, too, Dill." Taylor replied warmly, briefly wiping her eye before hugging him back. "From the first time you called me that."

"Used to think 'Taylor' meant 'mom'." Chad chuckled as he hugged them both. "Then he called me 'not dad'."

"I was just confused." Dylan admitted with a small sniff.

"I know." Chad nodded.

"I wish we could go back to that time, just the three of us. Everything's happening too fast here." Dylan said. "How am I supposed to just leave for college next year?"

"Simple. You get your own car and drive out of here." Chad joked.

Dylan tried to chuckle but failed. "I'm not ready for that yet."

"It's not going to make a difference if you stay close by and live here the entire four years." Taylor shook her head.

"So then what happens after that?" Dylan asked, feeling the need to cry. "How am I supposed to leave after that, too? Waht if I miss Cheryl and Trina growing up or other family stuff?"

"Never gonna happen." Chad said. "Hey when I was in college and got my own place, my mom would visit me every weekend. You can do that, too. Come and stay back here for a weekend. Even board here and extra year until you find your own place close by. The door's always opened for you."

"I don't even know if I wanna do that." Dylan sighed. "But I know I can't depend on you guys forever."

"You got all the time to think about it. Don't make things rush any quicker." Chad shook his head.

"We'll just deal with it when the time comes." Taylor added. "We're still here together. And we'll still be together whether you're here or dorming at college."

Dylan nodded. "Ok."

Taylor sighed heavily. "we have to get dinner started. So, we're going to let you go now."

Dylan nodded. Chad slowly let go of the two of them and Dylana nd Taylor pulled out of their hug. They started laughing at each other when they saw their tear-stained faces.

"Look at us." Taylor giggled, wiping her eye.

"I know, we're a couple of saps." Dylan joked.

"Yeah, you guys should see yourselves." Chad chuckled.

"Sure, Mr. Macho Man who's too strong to cry." Dylan teased as he got off the bed.

"Hey believe me, I'll cry when I lose one of you guys." Chad said seriously.

"I'll believe that when I see it." Dylan said. He blinked back the rest of his tears and pointed into the hallway. "You want me to check on the girls?"

"Sure." Taylor nodded. "We'll start dinner in five."

"Kay." Dylan agreed before walking out.

Chad moved to the edge of the bed next to Taylor. "Never thought I'd see the day when you'd cry so easily either." he admitted.

"Guess I just let the moment get to me." Taylor said. "We have great kids, you know that."

"Always do." Chad nodded. A smile came on his face as he opened his arms. "Come here."

Taylor raised an eyebrow and smiled. "What?"

Chad just chuckled and pulled her onto his lap. "Come here." he repeated as he wrapped his arms around Taylor before pulling her into a passionate kiss. Taylor, of course, returned the action as he arms went around his neck. But she pulled away when she realized something.

"Chad, this isn't our room. We can't do much in here." she told him.

"No, but we can do plenty in our room later." Chad grinned seductively. "Like pick up where we left off?"

"I don't know." Taylor admitted. "I mean, my body's going to be a little flubby."

"Ah, flubby, shmubbly." Chad chuckled. "We'll do it the same way when we took Cheryl home. And besides, I like your flub."

"That made no sense." Taylor shook her head.

"I know." Chad chuckled as he kissed her once more. But it didn't last more than a minute this time.

"I thought you guys were starting on dinner." Cheryl moaned from the doorway, causing the two of them to break apart and see Cheryl with Dylan, who was holding Trina.

"Forget dinner, I think they're starting on dessert a little early." Dylan joked.

Cheryl raised an eyebrow. "I don't get it."

Chad laughed as he put his head on top of Taylor's while Taylor gripped onto his shirt and almost laughed into his chest. "We'll be right down." he promised. He waited until the kids were gone from the doorway to look at Taylor again, "And now I know what I want for dessert."

Taylor smiled as she got off Chad's lap and stood up, taking his hand and pulling him off the bed with her. "And I think one sappy night for the week is enough." she giggled.

"Yeah." Chad nodded in agreement as he followed her out of the room. "But why do I feel like we all forgot something?"

--page break--page break--page break--

Zeke shot up from his slumber as he looked around the room frantically. His brown eyes rushed around the area, only to see every other chair empty and none of his friends in sight, not even Sharpay. The last time everyone was in that room they were waiting for news about the baby....

His eyes widened at the horrible thought. It didn't even matter that in the oddest way he had been out cold for a couple of days, not even noticed by passing doctors, people, or anyone, or that he was literally freaking out right now. There was only one thought going on through Zeke's mind.

"Oh man, I knew this would happen! Everyone left me here to go to some cuckoo hut!"

* * *

Oh come on, you all know you were waiting for this chapter! I tried to recreate the family moment I was thinking of, but something can never be done the same way you see it the first time. And besides, I'm no good with mushy or sappy scenes. I always just end up stalling cause I can't deal with them for some reason. You guys feel like that with a certain scene, ever? And as far as the ending with Zeke goes, I added that last minute. Just thought it could all end off with a little comedy thing, you know? And again, thank you lilmissmonique for being the only one to say whether Chad and Taylor should have a boy or a girl. C= So this is all I got for now, and I do not know when the next update will be. But it can also be quicker if you guys throw out suggestions of what you want to see like RamadusDaughter23 and Ash did. 0=) Just saying, and also saying thanks again.


	15. Just Around the Corner

My apologies for not updating much so far. I'm on Spring Break and my parents are off to Florida while I have a ton of homework, work, and also happened to get into roleplaying. So less time for fanfics. But I've had some ideas to continue these oneshots. I'm not sure how much longer these are gonna go on cause it's only a matter of time (and chapters) before Dylan starts college. So if it's really wanted, I'll keep going even after that. That's all I wanted to say.  
Disclaimer: No ownage.  
_Chapter Fifteen Summary: It's that time in a teenager's life when they have to figure out where they go after high school. So now Dylan must narrow down his colleges and see where he wants to go. So what happens when the final two colleges he has it down to are a local school and an away school? Elsewhere, Sharpay confides in Ryan and Kelsi for advice on children.  
_

* * *

**Chapter Fifteen: Just Around the Corner  
**

"I can't believe it's May already." Chad stated as he pulled off another page from the desk calendar on the credenza. "One month left till we get the kids home for summer break."

"You mean all of them." Taylor corrected as she came over with baby Trina in her arms. "Can you get her breakfast started? She won't let me put her down."

Chad chuckled. "She hasn't let you put her down since day one." he corrected, walking into the kitchen.

"You know she lets you hold her, too." Taylor informed him.

"Oh c'mon," Chad playfully rolled his eyes, "you're her favorite parents and you know it."

"But she loves pulling on your hair." she replied.

Chad chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I can't argue with that. My hair is very pullable."

"That's not a word." she shook her head.

"Hey, I can make words up if I wanted." Chad said. He paused and snapped his fingers to try and get creative. "Something like...lison. A lion mixed with a bison."

Taylor shook her head once more. "Can I please just have Trina's bottle now?"

"Alright." he gave in. He took out the bottle of heated milk and made sure it was alright, then handed it to Taylor.

"I'm heading out to school." Dylan said as he came downstairs and headed for the door. "I'm gonna grab some food at school before homeroom."

"Look at that. He's leaving us already." Chad joked.

Dylan rolled his eyes. "Very funny Dad."

"Are you going to be late today?" Taylor inquired.

"No, I'm coming right home from school." he replied. "And Cherry's upstairs getting dressed so she'll be down soon."

"She's getting ready early..." Chad said as he looked at his watch. "Her bus doesn't come for over an hour."

Dylan just shrugged. "Maybe she's sick or something." he offered. "But I've got school in a half hour so I gotta get going."

"Don't forget about meeting with your guidance counselor during free period." Taylor reminded Dylan. "You have to let him know which colleges you have it narrowed down to."

Dylan stopped; he had forgotten about that. "Yeah..." he said slowly.

"You're not still worried about the college thing are you?" Chad wondered.

"No." Dylan replied. He turned back to face them. "Well...not completely."

"What's there to worry about? We got everything under control." Chad shrugged.

"We've gone through every possible college that has your interests. We've had six colleges at the beginning of this year, three of which were safe schools that we knew you'd get into." Taylor added. "How many colleges have you taken out of the picture?"

Dylan tried to refrain himself from biting his lip or tongue. He hadn't completely kept his folks in the open about his college plans. "A few." he replied sheepishly. "I'm...gonna head out now. See you after school." He rushed out the door and closed it behind him.

Chad raised an eyebrow. He slowly turned to the girls, his eyes mainly on Trina who was now happily and calmly sucking her bottle. "And how can you be so calm about this?" he asked her.

Trina only replied by continuing to suck her bottle.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." he muttered.

"We'll talk to Dylan about it after school." Taylor suggested.

"Today's my late day. I'm not gonna be home till dinner." Chad said, leaning on the kitchen counter.

"Well I'm staying home again today so I can talk to Dylan when he gets home." she offered.

"Again?" Chad repeated.

Taylor sighed. "I can't keep asking Zeke to watch Trina when he has off frm work just so I can go in, or you for that matter. And I can't neglect my job either. We're just lucky my superiors are more compromising than my last ones."

"Fine." Chad gave in. "But tomorrow's my day off so then you'll go into work and I'll watch her. At least we both have the same day on the weekend off, that's only six days to worry about instead."

"And we have bigger things to worry about too." Taylor replied.

"Yeah. Like what Dill's hiding from us about college." Chad nodded.

"Ok, I'm ready for school." Cheryl grinned as she stepped into the living room.

Her parents blinked at her attire. A pair of bunny eats, a tank top and a pair of swim floats, baggy jeans held up tight with some kind of sixty's belt buckle, and snow boots. The two slowly glanced at each other. "We got more to worry about than we thought." Chad muttered.

--page break--page break--page break--

"I got here as soon as I could." Kelsi said as she ran into Sharpay's house with Travis in her arms. She stopped in her tracks when she saw that Sharpay had been waiting (somewhat impatiently) for her. "Sharpay...why aren't you at school? You have drama class, senior chorus, drama club..."

"I know I have a lot of things to control at the school." Sharpay interrupted in an annoyed manner. "Now where's Ryan? He needs to be here, too."

"He doesn't have any afternoon classes so he should be here after his lunch period." Kelsi replied. "And you know he's been backing out of drama club once in a while to help me with Travis."

The one-year-old giggled and held his arms out to greet Sharpay.

Sharpay couldn't help but smile at the infant. "Aw, come say hi to Aunty Sharpay." she cooed as she took him from Kelsi. What? She had a soft spot for her nephew. She turned back to Kelsi. "so he'll be back around one?"

"He should be." she nodded.

"I can't wait that long!" Sharpay moaned as she collapsed onto the couch.

"Sharpay, is everything ok?" Kelsi asked concerned as she sat next to her.

"Everything will be better when Ryan gets here. I need to talk to the both of you." she replied.

"So what's the matter? Is something wrong with you and Zeke?" Kelsi asked. She normally wasn't a persuasive one...as a matter of fact, Kelsi was as withdrawn as they came sometimes because she was so quiet and shy. But still, Sharpay was family and she couldn't turn her back on that.

"No, but something's going to be wrong if we keep fighting over something meaningless." Was Sharpay's reply. "And there's going to be something wrong with me and Ryan if he doesn't get his choreography and hat-loving butt over here fast!" She sighed heavily and started pacing around the room, muttering a few different things about both men that angered her quite easily.

Kelsi sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Something tells me it's going to be a long wait. Whatever it is Sharpay needs to share, it's a good thing I'm sitting down."

--page break--page break--page break--

Dylan silently waited in the guidance counselor's office for his turn to discuss colleges. It was the week that all seniors would be meeting with their respective ones for final discussions on college. And with four guidance counselors, each one had a certain amount of students to attend to, of course each one assigned to an alphabetical order as well. He tapped his finger against his lap nervously. Ok, so maybe he was a little nervous. But unlike a good portion of the students in his senior class, Dylan wasn't ready to leave high school. Heck, he wasn't even ready to move out of the house yet when others were already talking about getting their own apartments away from home or dorming in other states and such.

As soon as Dylan heard his name, he got up from his seat and walked into his respective counselor's office. He took a seat in front of the desk, placing his backpack in the empty chair beside him. His guidance counselor, one of around a middle age and rounded body, turned to face him.

"So how are you doing, Dylan?" he asked.

"Fine, Mr. Fredding." Dylan nodded.

"And how are classes going?" the guidance counselor continued as he pulled out Dylan's folder.

"Good. We're already finishing with the last chapters and getting ready for finals." Dylan replied.

"Ah, so you must be excited for college then." Mr. Fredding nodded with a smile. "I can assure you this much, you have nothing to worry about. You have more credits than necessary to graduate, and I'm sure at least one of your colleges will accept credits you earned after recieving a three on your AP exam."

Dylan blinked. "We weren't supposed to find that out till next month."

"well there goes my big fat mouth again." Mr. Fredding chuckled. "Well in that case, now you know you did fine on that. Just a few points away from a two. You must've put in a lot of effort."

"Yeah, I studied all week for that." he nodded.

"Oh, you'll make a fine college student indeed." Mr. Fredding continued. "So, let's talk schools then." He pulled out numerous papers from the folder. "You've gotten plenty of offers from the colleges you've chosen. And I can't say I blame them. Top ten percent of your class, plenty of extra curriculars, no detentions, no crimes, decent scores on your SAT's, fine on that one ACT, excellent letters of recommendation from your teachers, no failed exams..."

"Yeah...that's great." Dylan nodded, trying to sound excited. He knew he did plenty of good things in high school, but he wasn't going to leave them behind. He didn't even want to leave high school behind.

"So, how many colleges have you narrowed it down to since our last meeting?" Mr. Fredding inquired.

"I definitely wanna stay around here. Or in one of the states surrounding New Mexico." Dylan said. "So that eliminated the university in California."

"Yeah, California's overrated anyway." the guidance counselor chuckled as he moved the said sheet to the side. "So that brings us down to five, three of which are safe schools. But let's be honest, with your grades almost all of them were safe schools."

"I guess." Dylan replied.

"Now, you remember what we talked about?" he inquired. "About at this point you should have it down between a home school and an away school?"

"Yes Mr. F." Dylan nodded.

"And have you narrowed down your choices to those?"

"Yeah...I think so."

"Excellent then. Which ones?"

Dylan looked over the sheets until his eyes fell on the two he had in mind. "These two. One here in New Mexico, the other in Colorado."

"Bold choices, I must say." Mr. Fredding agreed. "An Ivy League college in Colorado, if memory serves. The one you'd have to work for. And it has everything you want in it. Art, music, science..."

Dylan pointed to another sheet. "But this one was a close third, so I wanna keep hearing from that one."

Mr. Fredding raised an eyebrow as he looked over the sheet. "You sure about this one? Are you planning on possibly transferring sometime in your college years?"

"I don't know." Dylan admitted. "But that's why I wanna keep my ears open."

"Very well then." he nodded, putting the paper down. "Now we have to send in the final paperwork today for your chosen university. So I ask you, Dylan, which one will it be?"

--page break--page break--page break--

"Ryan what took you so long?" Sharpay demanded as she saw her brother walk in the door right away.

Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. "Sorry Shar, I kinda got caught up at lunch. I was with the math teacher and we were exchanging tactics about how to handle the troublemaking students..."

"Oh shut up with that, Ryan." Sharpay argued. "Sit down. I need yours and Kelsi's help."

Ryan cocked his head towards Kelsi. "Something I should know about?"

"I've been here all day." Kelsi shrugged, bouncing Travis in her lap. "She wouldn't talk until you got here."

"Well, I'm here now." Ryan shrugged.

"Great. You. Sit. Now." Sharpay told him like a command as she pushed Ryan onto the couch next to Kelsi.

Ryan blinked, caught off guard for a minute. He glanced at his wife before turning back to his sister. "So what's going on Shar?"

Sharpay sighed heavily. "I...need...your advice...."

"Sharpay...are you feeling alright?" Kelsi asked worriedly. "You never ask for advice."

"Yeah, unless you want to know which pink dress looks best on you." Ryan added.

"But this is different. This is for Zeke." Sharpay said. "And you two are the only ones I can trust not to blab to anyone about this and who I can actually count on for help."

"Ok, I'm still going into shock after 'I need your advice'." Ryan admitted.

Kelsi relaxed an overly content Travis before speaking again. "Sharpay...whatever you need our help with, you can tell us."

"Alright." Sharpay sighed heavily. "As you know, Zeke has constantly been saying how much he'd love someone else around the house besides me, and how he wanted to add something more to that dream...but thanks to my pride I don't want to be a part of it as much as I want to or as much as I know I should. So that's why...I want advice...about...children."

Ryan's mouth dropped open. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" he gasped.

"Sharpay...are you sure you're feeling alright?" Kelsi asked slowly.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Sharpay insisted. "But Zeke really wants this...and I'm trying to push myself to go through with it."

"Sharpay, it's great that you want to make Zeke happy. It really is." Kelsi said supportingly. "Just...why the sudden change of heart?"

Sharpay sighed and sat down on the chair nearby. "I've seen Zeke eye other couples with kids. And I see the way he takes care of Travis. He loves him and he loves everyone else's kids. They're like family to him. But they'll never be his. I just want to make Zeke happy for once and give him something he's always wanted."

"Have you talked about this with Zeke?" Kelsi wondered. "I mean, as soon as Ryan and I started planning when I told him we were having Travis things went pretty smoothly."

"Yeah, still in shock here." Ryan said.

Sharpay rolled her eyes at her brother. "No...I wanted it to be a surprise." she admitted. "But I'm not sure what to do. How do I break it to him? Where do we start planning with a baby? How am I going to handle a baby? How am I even going to handle carrying it for nine months?"

"Have you thought about adoption?" Ryan asked.

The girls looked at him, not being the ones in shock. "Huh?"

"Well, in places like China there's plenty of baby girls up for adoption. And there should be a ton of adoption agencies somewhere in New Mexico. You can go there, too." Ryan offered. He saw the looks of confusion from the girls. "I learned the one about China from the Simpsons."

"Yeah, I knew it was too good to be true." Sharpay muttered.

"Listen Sharpay," Kelsi started, "it's really great that you want to do this for Zeke. And he's going to love you for it, more than he does now. But before you ask me and Ryan or anyone else for advice on raising kids you should really talk to Zeke about it first. You can go through it together and figure out what you want to do. Now if you're talking about having a baby, all you have to do is remember the end result of those nine months. But if you're thinking about adoption then it's just a matter of feeling like the child would be your own, biologically or not. Now whichever options you choose, it's up to you two."

"You know you give really good advice, Kels." Sharpay said much more calmly.

Kelsi blushed and looked down at her son while Ryan returned to his shocking state. Clearly this was all too good to be true.

A smile came across Sharpay's face. "Travis would really love a playmate, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe." Kelsi said. "And whichever option you and Zeke decide to go for, we'll be right there for you."

"Thanks Kelsi." Sharpay replied.

"So when are you going to tell him?" Kelsi wondered.

"I'm going to try tonight." Sharpay admitted. "Do you think he'll go for it?"

"He'll be thrilled." Kelsi said loyally.

"Ok the shock finally blew over." Ryan sighed with relief. He looked back and forth between the girls. "What'd I miss?"

--page break--page break--page break--

"Hey Mom." Dylan said as he walked upstairs and past the nursery to his bedroom.

Taylor looked up from the crib and turned to Dylan. "Hey. How'd it go with your guidance counselor?" she wondered.

"Alright." Dylan replied, putting his books down.

Taylor raised an eyebrow as she left Trina in the crib and walked into his bedroom. "Just alright?"

"Yeah." Dylan nodded.

"Ok can you try and be serious for five minutes?" Taylor inquired.

Dylan sighed. Was there ever a way to get around her? "How did you feel when you started preparing for college?" he wondered.

"Are you just asking that to avoid talking about college for yourself?" she quirked an eyebrow.

"Partially..." Dylan squeaked.

"Look, not everyone is ready to leave public school if that's what you're thinking." Taylor said. "And it's especially hard when you're going out of state to where none of your friends are going. But as soon as you start, you forget all about the nerves and focus on adjusting and maknig new friends."

"We were talking about at least narrowing everything down between a home school and an away school before making a final decision." Dylan continued. "What made you wanna go to the other side of the country?"

"That was where my dream college was." Taylor answered simply. "I didn't think once about how far away it was or how awkward it would be hardly seeing anyone I grew up with or how hard it would be to keep in touch with everyone, especially considering the time differences. But I knew it was where I wanted to go and it had what I was looking for. Was it hard to leave home at first? Of course. But I got used to it. And it became like a second home to me."

"And what about Dad?" Dylan wondered.

"He seemed to always know where he wanted to go. He had it all planned for who knows how long. He'd been watching college basketball since he was at least five and and the Redhawks were his favorite team. So it was his dream to play for them. He was fine with the traveling, but I think for him it was so much easier to be able to go home after an away game instead of home to a dorm house." Taylor answered. "We had discussed subjects like that in our senior year. We shared thoughts on colleges, where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do..."

"And that was one of the reasons you broke up, wasn't it?" Dylan assumed.

Taylor nodded as she recalled the memory. "Yeah. It was." she admitted. "But, as you can tell, we got over it. It's hard to start all over again and feel like you're leaving your friends behind or they're leaving you behind. But if you stay in contact with them it's not as bad as you think. And if you can adjust easily and make new friends, it makes the experience all the more easier. The schoolwork however, well that's a different story."

"So I've heard." Dylan nodded as he sat on his bed.

"Care to share your college decision?" she wondered. "You know we looked over everything first and we approved all of them. Whichever one you choose your father and I are going to be supportive through it all."

"So you're not gonna be mad with my choice?" Dylan asked.

"Not a chance." Taylor shook her head. "It's where you want to go, Dill. It's not up to us. So, when are you going to share the news?"

"At dinner, like we usually do with something big." Dylan suggested.

"You know Cheryl's going to be out tonight with friends from school." Taylor said.

"We can tell her tomorrow." Dylan promised. "I'll explain it slowly."

Taylor giggled. "Alright." She looked back to the nursery when Trina started crying again.

"Attention or dirty diaper?" Dylan asked.

Taylor took a minute to study the cry. "Dirty diaper." she concluded.

"Good luck with that." Dylan chuckled.

"Yeah, you keep saying that until you have to learn to change diapers." Taylor said as she walked out.

Dylan paused for a minute. "Yeah...think I'll worry about getting through college first."

--page break--page break--page break--

Sharpay sighed as she tapped her fingers against the vanity in her bedroom a few hours later. Ryan and Kelsi had already gone home and Zeke had yet to arrive from work. She was starting to have second thoughts about this. Maybe he wouldn't go for the idea...who was she kidding? He'd jump at the idea. Of course, then he'd start worrying about who she was and if she replaced his wife.... Sharpay shook her head and snapped out of her thoughts. No, she was not going to be intimidated. She was Sharpay Baylor! Nothing got to her.

"I'm home Shar!" Zeke called from downstairs.

"Coming Zekey!" Sharpay stood up right away, giggling to herself. Yup, the nickname woke him up every time he was tired from working. At least today was his earlier day at he bakery. She headed downstairs and greeted him with a kiss. "How are you?"

"A little tired, but not after you pulled the 'Zekey' name again." he chuckled.

"Good to know." Sharpay smiled. "I should have you know, I had Kelsi and Ryan here earlier."

"No work for them today?" Zeke wondered, hanging up his apron.

"Ryan came over after lunch. Kelsi was here all day with Travis." Sharpay answered.

"And how is our nephew going?" Zeke asked.

"He's going to grow up to be a strong dancer like Ryan and musically gifted like Kelsi." Sharpay assumed. "And I did happen to invite them over for a reason."

"Ok..." he said slowly. "Should I be concerned with this reason?"

"Not completely..." Sharpay told him half-truthfully. Yeah, like she was going to tell him how to react. "But the thing is, we have something to discuss."

Zeke blinked. "Am I working too much again?"

"No, I actually understand those late night rushes." Sharpay shook her head. "Among a few other rushes..." She snapped out of her thoughts and faced Zeke completely. "Maybe you want to sit down for this."

"Right..." he nodded slowly as he sat down on the couch.

Sharpay cautiously sat beside him. No, she wasn't getting intimidated. She was just...trying to approach the situation carefully. Maybe even throw Zeke off guard. Just for fun. "Zeke, you know how for the past year we've been...or rather you've been...wondering when we could be graced with a bundle of joy like our friends?"

"Uh-huh..." he replied.

"And you know how you've always said you wanted a child to call your own, no matter how weak or sick he or she was?" she continued.

"Uh-huh..." he repeated.

Sharpay took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I asked Ryan and Kelsi for advice on raising kids." she confessed. "Kelsi told me about what she went through when they were expecting Travis and everything they did to prepare for a baby. And we discussed a few other options, too. Mainly adoption."

Zeke's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to speak, but Sharpay shushed him.

"I am willing to give you a child, Zeke. But I'm not sure if I can handle going through nine months carrying one around inside of me and dealing with everything that comes with it." she continued. "I realized that I am willing to do it for you, if there's no other choice. But we did spend time looking into adoption agencies. There are plenty of children out there who have been abandoned or had to be let go because their families couldn't afford to take care of them. And, as we've seen, adoption can still be very rewarding. So, if we don't go through with...the typical plan...I would be willing to adopt if you are. I don't even care if we would get a boy or a girl. I realized that I would go either way for you." She took a deep breath as she finished talking, waiting for Zeke's reaction.

"Wow Shar...I never knew you'd be willing to go through with it." Zeke breathed after a moment. "I guess I just always thought..."

"And I'm sorry for ever putting that thought in your head." she interrupted. "But I just want you to know where I stand. I'm not the same Ice Princess I was back in high school."

Zeke couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, you aren't." he agreed. "You're the Snow Princess."

"Huh?" Sharpay raised an eyebrow.

"Ice is much harder than snow. It doesn't melt as easily. But I think I've seen you melt a little easier once in a while." Zeke explained. "You're not ice, Sharpay. You're snow." He smiled as he put a hand over hers. "And you know something? You are right. There's plenty of kids out there who need families. And you know what else? I don't care if we have one on our own or if we adopt. As long as we have someone besides us in this house and we can work together to raise them, I'll be happy. If I can treat my friends' kids like they're my own I can do that with any kid. And if you're sure you want to go through with anything like it at all, then I'm proud to call you Mrs. Baylor."

Sharpay squealed. "Zeke that is so sweet! I am so sorry for giving you a hard time with this before." She hugged him tight.

Zeke chuckled. Yup, there was that Snow Princess. "So we're gonna go through with it?" he asked as he hugged her back.

"Most definitely." Sharpay replied, actually sounding eager about it.

--page break--page break--page break--

Dylan came down as Taylor finished putting dinner on the dining room table. "Trina's fast asleep up there." he said.

"Looks like it's dinner for three then." Taylor replied. "Assuming the father figure gets here within the next five minutes."

"Heard my name. Hope it's good things." Chad chuckled as he walked into the dining room.

"Man's got great timing." Dylan joked.

Chad smiled as he rubbed Dylan on the head, then pecked Taylor on the cheek. "Dinner looks great, as usual. Where's the girls?"

"Cheryl's eating at a friend's house and will be home by eight. And Trina's sleeping upstairs." Taylor answered as she sat down. "Not too worn out today?"

"Nah, the kids decided to give the hair pulling thing a break today." Chad joked. "How was your free day?"

"You win some, you lose some." Taylor answered. "Trina wouldn't stop asking for attention today...especially when I had to change her five times."

"And if she does it again I'm doing it after dinner, aren't I?" Chad assumed as he poured some soda into his glass.

"Yup." Taylor nodded. She looked towards Dylan, who had took a single bite out of his food. "And Dylan had his meeting today. Apparently everything for college is all planned."

"Well, better sit down for this one then." Chad said as he pulled out his chair before sitting.

"It's nothing major." Dylan shook his head.

"College is a major thing, kiddo. You practically become a free man." Chad told him. "Well..sorta, I guess."

Dylan chuckled. "I told my guidance counselor the two colleges I had in mind, especially since I needed to give my final answer today, if not then by the end of the week."

"So you know where you're going?" Chad asked.

"I think so." he nodded slowly. He took a deep breath and sat up straight. "I narrowed it down between a local college and one in Colorado. And I know that the one in Colorado is the only one that wasn't as much of a safe school as the other ones were, but it had everything that I was looking for and the campus was really nice when we visited it over spring break. But the local school is much closer and I don't have to worry about dorming and I can stay here all four years."

"So does that mean you made a decision?" Chad asked.

"Yeah, I did. And I also figured out something." Dylan nodded. He watched as his parents looked at him intently. "The thing is...I love high school. I like seeing my friends everyday, I like going in at seven-thirty and coming home by three, and I like everything it has to offer. But I know I can't stay in high school forever. But I do know that I wanna stay here as long as I can. I'm not ready to go away to any kind of college. I'm not even ready to move out of the house yet. Cause the thing is, I wanna stay here. I don't care if everyone else dorms or gets their own apartment away from home. I just wanna stay here. And I know I'll have to move out eventually, but I'm not ready yet." He took a deep breath once more. "So that's why...I chose the University of Albuquerque."

Chad and Taylor exchanged glances before looking back at Dylan. "My old school?" Chad asked.

"I know that maybe it's not the best college around and I could do way better." Dylan explained. "But it's the closest college to home and it still has everything I need. And it may be a four-year-school but it's also a good place to get started if I don't completely know where I'm going. I can take a variety of classes, look into different departments...and then maybe in a few years or when I graduate I can transfer my credits and go to another college. The second closest one is in Santa Fe. And it's not as close as U of A, but it's the farthest I think I wanna go from home. It's just far enough for me to make sense to dorm there but it's still close enough that I could come home on the weekends. So that's why I'm keeping that option opened and so I can keep hearing from it. I don't wanna go out of state."

"Well you do get a discount for going to the same school as your old man." Chad couldn't help but smile. Hey it was a bonus. He chuckled, then noticed the glances from the two and cleared his throat. "Guess this is the part where I talk about how good or bad the college is, huh?"

"Start talking." Taylor nodded.

Dylan blinked. "You're ok with me going there?"

Taylor put down her fork and looked at Dylan. "I know you could go to a far better college than U of A. But it's not up to me to choose your college for you. I will give the school credit though, some of its departments are well-known. It's not all bad. But I do like the idea of you thinking of transferring at some point and keeping your options opened. The point of this is to go where you feel comfortable and what makes you happy. And it sounds like you have everything planned and took it all into consideration." She shrugged and smiled. "Go Redhawks."

Chad cheered. "Hello Redhawk family!"

Dylan chuckled.

"Ok Chad, start giving him the talk about how great the experience was for you." Taylor giggled.

"Hey, it wasn't that great without my friends there." Chad admitted. "But it is a good school. You're gonna like it there, Dill. Just make sure you set em straight when they ask for you on the basketball team."

"That's all you have to say?" Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"What else am I supposed to say?" Chad asked. "To go and live out your dream? To make the most of your time there? To make sure you plan all of your classes the way you want and have classes and schedules you can maintain? C'mon kiddo, you already know all that. Why do I need to tell you over and over again?"

"Good point." Dylan admitted.

Chad grinned. "So what do you have to say about this whole thing?"

Dylan thought about it for a minute, then smiled slightly. "Guess I'd better start getting ready for student orientation over the summer then. It's coming about as fast as graduation."

* * *

And there we go! A fairly long chapter, but it's also to make up for lost time. And now you know that the major events left is...oh, who are we kidding? The major event is going to be Dylan graduating. But as for Sharpay's and Zeke's situation, we'll see. 0=) Now just gonna take a quick minute here to respond to Lindsay's review. I don't wanna end up writing stuff people aren't going to like, so that's one reason I ask for opinions. Another reason is if I run short of ideas (which went on and off at some points) then then opinions are good. The chapter when Dylan got his first crush, for example, I was planning on doing something like that, but it was a question of when...and actually typing it. So someone wanting that was a reason to get it up sooner. And another baby going into the picture, I never would have thought about that. That opened up other ideas and possibly to have them eventually go through tings we haven't seen with Cheryl. And I asked for opinions on the gender because I didn't know what it should be. Part of me was saying boy, the other one was saying girl...it got hard to choose. Though if Troy and Gabriella were to have another baby and you wanted it to be a boy, then it could very well end up being a boy. Although, the story could use some more boys and I think I have a way to get that in (though no, it won't necessarily be with a baby). That's all I can really say to defend myself (or the story...whichever I'm supposed to be defending) and I have no other excuses. Ok...that was a long response. I should probably just shut up there before these a/n's take up more space than the chapters. xD


	16. The Finale: Part One

Wow it's been ages since I updated this! I hope I didn't lose too many people here. I am really sorry about not doing this for like months, especially when I still had ideas. So, this is part one of the finale, which I guess would be kind of a season finale or something...I dunno, pretty much however you wanna look at it. XD Anyway I think after the finales are done (which I'm not sure how long its gonna take, since this one pretty much took me a week to do with the 2 chapters from the other stories) I might update this once in a while but with like specials, you know? Dylan's first college experience, maybe a family looking into another child, some issues with Troy's and Gabriella's twins, something with Trina growing up...but we'll see soon. And no summary this time either, so it leaves you all just waiting and...well hopefully builds up the tension or something like that. XD So I hope this is decent enough for now, so enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen: The Finale, Part One**

"So how was your last day at school Dill?"

Dylan picked his head up and looked at Chad across the dinner table. He'd been so busy staring at his food and moving it across his plate that he'd barely been paying attention. "It was ok, I guess."

"You guess?" Chad chuckled. "I couldn't wait to leave school as soon as I was done with it. I was practically jumping for joy running out of the place. Last time I must've been there was for my sister's graduation."

"Yes, because I was the one who went to all of those back to school nights to meet the teachers and get a feel for Dylan's classes." Taylor stated as she fed some food to Trina, who was barely even a year old by now. On the other side of the table, Cheryl looked even less pleased, and still being in elementary school she had yet to realize the importance of graduation – especially high school.

"We don't have to get dressed up or anything do we?" she moaned.

"Well it would be nice." Taylor replied, eying Chad. "Someone could use a new sports jacket for special occasions."

Chad nearly choked on his food. "Wait, I have to go fancy jacket shopping? Can't you just throw me in jail now?"

"Nice try, but you're not getting out of it that easily." Taylor replied.

Trina just giggled and clapped her hands together before sucking on another spoonful of mushy baby food. Everyone was so entertaining, especially at the dinner table.

"Well why don't you buy a new jacket for Dylan while you're at it?" Chad asked.

"He'll be wearing his graduation gown that day. At that point the most he'll probably need is a nice shirt and tie." Taylor replied.

"He could wear a t-shirt under it." Chad groaned. "C'mon, I wore a t-shirt on our graduation."

"That doesn't mean Dylan will wear the same thing." Taylor informed him, despite the fact that Dylan did get his taste in slogan t-shirt from Chad.

"Guys can we please not make a big deal out of this now?" Dylan asked, breaking the slight argument. "I've still got a couple of finals to get through that we didn't take in class. Graduation is next weekend. We have time to worry about it."

"It's gonna go by faster than you think, kiddo." Chad said looking at his son.

"Don't remind me." Dylan muttered.

"Honey it's natural for you not wanting to leave something that you've grown so attached to. But that doesn't mean it won't be there for you to visit next year." Taylor said.

"I know, Mom." Dylan replied. "But I'm not leaving the school yet."

"Yeah, you got like what, three whole days left there." Chad said as he took a sip of his drink. "Enjoy it while it lasts."

"Dad…" Dylan moaned.

"You act as though he'll never go back to East High again. You know how much he loves that place." Taylor argued.

"It's just a school. There's still U of A. We all know he's going there." Chad retorted.

"Hello, I'm sitting right here." The teen waved his hand.

"Yes we do know, because you went there, it's local, and if Dylan doesn't know what he wants to do then it's a good place for him to get started." Taylor replied.

"We discussed this before. I'm surprised you are letting him go to U of A." was Chad's retort.

"It wasn't my choice to make, it was his. And he made it clear that he could always transfer and that he's keeping his options open."

"And when he was in tenth grade you were looking at all the best schools for him. The cream of the crop just like you applied for."

"They're called options, Chad. I was trying to plan ahead and see if any of them would fit Dylan."

"Oh please, I'm amazed you didn't try to take control of all of it sooner."

"I do not take control of everything."

"Oh cut the crap, you know you do!"

"Name the last time I did take control of something."

"Two weeks ago when you said 'oh let's order Chinese for dinner' when I wanted Italian and before I could call the pizza place and ask for a delivery you already called the Chinese restaurant."

"So you're going to hold something petty like that against me."

"Why not? You used to do it with me all the time."

"We were sixteen, Chad. That was before we started going out."

"Yeah, until you started that argument like two days before you left for Yale."

"Don't pull that with me. You started it first and you know it!"

During the entire argument Trina was opening and closing her mouth, trying to get a grip with it on her spoon so she could eat. But every time Taylor kept moving the spoon so it wasn't steady. Cheryl just looked back and forth between the arguing adults and Dylan couldn't feel more uncomfortable. He was still trying to wonder how they got from one subject to another in an argument so quickly, something he'd never been able to figure out. All he wanted to do tonight was forget that his last days of high school would be taking finals before officially graduating and instead somehow it escalated to a war between his parents. It was just plain horrible. Yes, they argued plenty of times, but they always made up. Dylan was beginning to get more worried, especially with the fighting becoming more frequent.

"You know what, this is just lame." Chad decided.

"I don't even know why I put up with you half the time." Taylor fought.

"Well then you won't have to deal with me tonight. Because I'm sleeping on the couch!"

"You read my mind!"

"Good, we're on the same page for once."

"Well then let me go throw some of your necessities out of my room."

"Our room!"

"Whosever room!"

With that, Taylor stuffed the spoon back in the jar of baby food and removed herself from her chair. She stormed out of the dining room and headed around and up the stairs. After hearing the footsteps stomping up the stairs the last thing they heard was the door slamming. Chad sighed heavily and threw himself out of his seat before forcing his own way into the living room. Dylan just watched as they left on their own, afraid of what this meant now. Cheryl looked at her brother, who seemed so distraught right now, and she didn't even understand why. A fight was a fight, wasn't it? Then she looked at her baby sister who was struggling to reach for the spoon and figure out how to feed herself, if it were possible at all. Finally, Cheryl opened her mouth and broke the silence.

"I know that was pretty rough and all…so I can skip out on my homework and shower then, right?"

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

The next day, Sharpay was frantically pacing around her living room with Kelsi watching her intently. Ryan was stuck watching over one of the finals at East High and had dropped Travis off at the daycare center, and Zeke had to open his bakery early because the three main high schools in the area had so many parties planned, mainly numerous families from each one, so business was going to be booming. Sharpay was free of proctoring exams until Friday, two days later, and Kelsi had the week off after arriving home from visiting family members just the day before. It was earlier than she had expected to be home, but her place was insistent on letting her take the rest of the week off. Her co-workers were quite persuasive.

"Sharpay, calm down." Kelsi tried saying to her. "I'm sure you'll hear back any day now."

"Zeke and I went on that interview three days ago. You'd think they'd call back by now and let us know if we're eligible." The blond groaned as she continued her pacing.

"Maybe they have a lot of applicants or something." Kelsi offered. "How did the interview go, anyway?"

"I was on my best behavior, just like Zeke told me to. I was polite, I was honest, I was professional…" Sharpay explained. Yeah, it was a bit hard to imagine the woman people used to call "Ice Princess" as all of those and more, but one couldn't blame her for trying. After all, she and Zeke had been on hold for an interview at the adoption agency for nearly a month. Sharpay wasn't about to give up now, not when she and Zeke were so close to actually having a child of their own. After discussing it numerous times and getting opinions from friends and family, the couple had decided that adoption was the best choice. They had gotten plenty of suggestions as well, including careful statistics and complicated math stuff or whatever it probably was from Gabriella and Taylor.

"Ok I get all of that. But you're worrying a little too much now." Kelsi replied.

"Well what else am I supposed to do?" Sharpay asked.

Kelsi shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe you just need a distraction. So again, how did the interview go?"

"They were asking all these strange questions. Some of them I'm not even sure if they were all professional to ask." Sharpay said. "Like one was on our experiences with kids. I told them I helped raise my little brother."

"Who's younger than you by ten or so minutes." Kelsi reminded her.

"They didn't need to know how much younger." She shook her finger. "Zeke had it much easier though, he has two younger brothers and like twenty younger cousins."

"Zeke has a way with children." Kelsi said simply.

"And then they asked if I couldn't have children of my own." Sharpay continued. "I told them I could but we'd prefer adoption and Zeke backed me up completely. And then they…."

"Ok, they asked a ton of questions. It was easy for you to try and keep hold of your temper after so long." She interrupted.

"But I managed." Sharpay replied.

"So have you and Zeke decided on a boy or a girl? Or an age group?" Kelsi wondered.

"Actually, we did. Zeke said he'd be happy with either and I know how much he'd love a son, so we agreed on a boy. But I didn't want to deal with going through diaper changing or potty training or anything of the sort." Sharpay responded. "So we're looking for somewhere around six and up, I guess. Gabriella made a big pie chart showing the percentages of kids in certain age ranges that get adopted and Taylor was going on and on about Dylan."

"Well he wasn't adopted until he was at least five." Kelsi estimated. "…And then nine. And you know how attached Chad and Taylor are to him. They love him like he's their own. Dylan even grew so close to them so easily."

"Yeah well I wouldn't mind having a boy like Dylan." Sharpay admitted. "He has good taste."

Kelsi held in a giggle. She knew Sharpay was only saying that because Dylan had complimented her so many times and was always so polite to her, even before he was ten.

"So how many?" she then asked. "One? Or more?"

"We're sticking with one for now and maybe in a few years we'll think about another." Sharpay answered. "Well…I guess unless we see twins that we really get attached to or something. But I'd prefer one." She finally stopped pacing and sat down next to Kelsi on the couch. "And what about you? Are you and Ryan giving us anymore nephews? Or nieces? Or just plan more kids for yourselves?"

Kelsi twiddled with her thumbs slightly. "I'd rather not say…I mean, you and Zeke have far much more to be excited about and should really talking about your child plans instead of conversing about mine…"

"Oh you know that's a bunch of nonsense, Kelsi." Sharpay rolled her eyes. "So, I demand to know. Are you going to give Travis any siblings?"

Kelsi was silent for a moment. It was as though the atmosphere around her had become denser and within that thick fog of confusion she was trying to contain something. But Sharpay wouldn't hear any of it; surely she was persuasive enough to discover what it was. But Kelsi had always been the quiet one. She wouldn't talk about certain issues easily. Unfortunately, this was one of those issues and surely something that she didn't want a soul to know. So that meant either getting off the subject or beating around the bush. In short, whatever it takes to avoid the topic.

"There's nothing to talk about Sharpay. I mean, not with me anyway. I really think you should keep talking…" she started.

"I've been doing all the talking since I could open my mouth and say 'drama'." Sharpay replied by placing her hands on her hips. "You can't get away from me that easily, Kelsi. I will find out no matter what."

"There's nothing to find out, really." She replied.

"And that's nothing more than bologna." Sharpay said.

"Did you know that bologna is actually spelled differently than it's pronounced?" Kelsi inquired, hoping to stray from the hot topic.

"Well actually I have always wondered about that…" Sharpay started. She stopped in midsentence and rapidly shook her head. "Oh who cares about what bologna sounds or tastes like? We have more important matters to discuss!"

"Sharpay…"

"I mean, all I'm asking is why not expand our family? I know after all these years you can surely tell me."

"Of course but…"

"So then clearly there's nothing for you to hide from me and yet you're hiding something from me. Kelsi why are you hiding something from me? I've never let you hide anything from me. If you haven't hid anything from me all these years then why start now? Stop hiding things from me…"

"I can't have any more children!"

Sharpay's mouth dropped. Did she just hear what she thought she heard? She prayed it was wrong. Surely it must have been every woman's nightmare to not have children, even more after one. She could only imagine how Kelsi must have felt. And what about Ryan? Sharpay's only brother…how was he taking the news?

"Have you told anyone else?" she wondered.

Kelsi shook her head. "I haven't told him. The subject never came up."

"What do you mean, the subject never came up?" Sharpay repeated. "Kels, have you ever thought about if Ryan wanted more kids?"

"I'll deal with it then." Kelsi replied. "But until then he doesn't need to know."

"Do you at least know what happened?" she asked.

"Same thing that always happens in a case like this, I guess." Kelsi shrugged her shoulders. "The first baby does something to mess up the system. I'm not going to ask a doctor to go in full detail. I don't particularly want to hear about it either."

"But Kelsi, Ryan deserves to know." Sharpay said. "You know he can get sensitive about some things."

"And like I said, we'll deal with it when the time is right." Kelsi replied. "I'll be sure to break it to him gently, Shar. But he's not going to hate it as much as I am. Just promise me you won't tell him."

"Kels I really think-" she started.

"Promise me, Sharpay." She insisted.

Sharpay just sat there wide-eyed. She never knew Kelsi could be so…assertive. It was so unlike her. And how could Sharpay say no to her? She couldn't, that's how. On the one hand, Ryan was so close to Sharpay as it was and they never really kept secrets from each other…well, that was a lie. Sharpay used to keep secrets from her brother all the time. And the on the other hand, this was a secret that couldn't be kept for long. It'd only be a matter of time before Ryan found out, one way or another. Sharpay actually didn't want to see his reaction to that, or see a fight erupt between him and Kelsi over it.

Finally, Sharpay sighed heavily. "Alright…" she caved, "I won't tell a soul."

-SZ-RK-SZ-RK-SZ-RK

"How was your final, Dylan?"

Dylan closed the door behind him and looked over at Taylor, who was sitting at the counter working on her laptop. Probably sending an email or doing some research on something. It would always be something different.

"It was ok, I guess. It was an AP Government final, is there really anyway to describe it?" he replied.

"I suppose not. Some things will never change. Some things about history were never that interesting." Taylor replied. "How do you think you did?"

"Same as my other finals. Probably a B." Dylan replied going over to the refrigerator.

Taylor eyed him. "You say that every time and you get at least an A." she told him. "I don't understand why you're concerned so much."

"I don't know. I guess it's easy to get lost when you're distracted about something. And it keeps eating away at you. Like every time you try to focus on one thing your mind just wanders somewhere else." Dylan glanced at his mother and wondered if she'd get the message. But when there was no response Dylan took a deep breath and decided to go with asking. "Mom…is something going on with you and Dad?"

Taylor stared at him and raised an eyebrow. She should have seen this coming. Maybe a part of her did but wanted to ignore it. Still, that didn't mean it was fair to leave Dylan in the dark. He was more concerned than Cheryl was, anyway. Not to mention he had seen them fight more time than she could count. Taylor knew – she had lost count after five. "Honey…what makes you think something's going on with us?"

"You guys have been fighting more than usual lately. Like last night at dinner. You were at each others' throats. And the night before, I heard you arguing in the middle of the night and Dad locked himself in the bathroom." Dylan replied. "You guys fought a lot over the past couple of years and now it's getting worse. How bad is it getting, Mom? Bad enough for you guys to get a divorce?" He sounded more than just a little concerned, that much was true. And Dylan had the right to be. But he hadn't considered that perhaps he was misunderstanding the situation or he was making a bigger deal out of it than he needed to. No matter what the reason, he desperately wanted an answer soon. Preferably now.

Taylor was just about to open her mouth and speak until the phone rang. She held up a finger, signaling to Dylan that she'd be brief. She went over to the phone and answered it. "Hello?" she asked. "Oh, good afternoon sir. "Judging from her tone and sudden change of voice, it had to be her boss from work. A minute passed and she spoke again. "Today? Now? But it's my day off, sir." Another minute went by. "I understand. Alright, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." She hung up the phone and went to turn off her laptop.

"Was that the office?" Dylan inquired.

"Yeah. Apparently something's wrong with one of the machines. I go in that room to make so many copies and get so much coffee everyone there thinks I know how the whole place operates. And then there's something that has to be typed up by tomorrow and it can't wait." Taylor explained.

"What about Trina?" he asked.

Taylor sighed and looked at her watch. Clearly there wasn't enough time for this. "Dylan not now…. Are you going to be ok to watch her?"

He had gotten much better with children – especially babies – since Cheryl was Trina's age, but Dylan wasn't always sure if he could handle any on his own again. He would prefer assistance. "Can't you call Dad and ask him?"

Taylor sighed heavily. "Call him at the daycare center, see if he can leave early or something. If he even wants to." She rolled her eyes and ran upstairs to put her laptop away.

"But Mom what about you and Dad? What's going on?" Dylan gasped.

"We'll talk later alright? I'm sorry but I really have to go." She replied grabbing her keys and a light jacket. "I promise I'll be home by dinner alright? And if I'm not and _someone _is too lazy to cook for the evening then dip into some of the cookie jar money and use that to order a pizza."

"Vut Mom-" he started again.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to run." She replied. She kissed him on the head, "Love you." Then before Dylan knew it, she was out the door. And he wasn't just left with possibly dinner and his baby sister, but without any answers.

-HSM-HSM-HSM-

"Sharpay you're never going to believe this!" Zeke exclaimed as he ran in through the front door late that night.

Sharpay yawned and look up from her magazine. "Zeke, it's past midnight. You're home later than usual."

"I'm sorry Shar, but it got really busy at the bakery. There's three weddings going on in town at once and I had to get a ton of cakes ready. And I was short-handed because some of my younger workers were in school or taking exams." He explained. "But trust me, once you hear my news it'll all be worthwhile."

"I can only imagine." She muttered rolling her eyes.

"I'm not kidding Shar, this is big." He replied.

"Well how big are we talking?" Sharpay raised an eyebrow.

Zeke only smiled. "Big as in, I got a call on my cell phone from the adoption agency!"

"OMG, no way!" Sharpay gasped, practically jumping off the couch. "Zeke, that's incredible! What did they say? Are we eligible to adopt? Are they considering us? When can we go back? Details, details, details!" She had her hands on his shoulders, now literally shaking Zeke and demanding answers. Now that was the Sharpay everyone knew and…well, sometimes loved and sometimes feared if one looked at the big picture.

Zeke gently put his hands on Sharpay's arms and took them away from his body. "Well they looked over our interview three times. They contacted family members for reassurance. And they were really won over when we said we would rather adopt and give someone a family than have a child of our own like everyone else. They called us unique."

"And? And? And?" Sharpay asked quickly.

Zeke just laughed at his wife's reaction. "We can stop by the agency next week to adopt our first son!"

"No way!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Zeke that's amazing!" She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. Zeke spun her around and wrapped his arms around her, laughing as he did so.

"I know. Shar we're finally gonna be parents!" he grinned widely. "If there's any change in plans the agency's gonna call and reschedule."

"Forget about that!" Sharpay gasped as she jumped down from his level. "We have to get prepared. We have to paint the room for him, we have to buy a bed, we have to buy toys and video games and his own TV…"

"And you're gonna spoil him aren't you?" Zeke chuckled.

She held up a finger at him. "Zeke Baylor, boy or girl you know as well as heck that I would spoil any child of ours. And you're gonna bake him a special cake for his arrival."

"I'd have to find out his favorite flavor and allergies first." He replied.

"Well then at least start brainstorming ideas!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "We'll need to set up the room and buy clothes and plan family vacations and introduce him to his aunt and uncle, and talk about enrolling him in school and buy him books and see if we can get him a pet, but not something that drools and slobbers like a dog or scratches like a cat, maybe some goldfish or something…"

Zeke couldn't help but laugh. He knew Sharpay would start taking control the instant she found out the good news. But even then he still loved her. "I'll go upstairs so we can start celebrating." He said as he headed up to their bedroom.

"And I'll call Kelsi. I have to tell her the good news. Midnight or six a.m. she's going to find out." Sharpay agreed, grabbing the phone off the coffee table. But as Zeke disappeared in the staircase and Sharpay began dialing the number, she slowly felt her body stop. Her brain stopped functioning and her fingers froze on the keypad, constantly pressing the five button over and over again so at least the next ten numbers were nothing but fives. She was more than overjoyed about this. She was getting her first child. But then thinking about Kelsi…if she and Ryan wanted anymore children then they'd have to go through this as well. Sharpay couldn't even begin to think how that would go out. Even now she wondered if Ryan knew or not. She couldn't call Kelsi and give her the news now. Not with the reaction Sharpay figured she would give. Now the thought of having a child was pushed out of her mind and she was thinking of something completely different. The same thought swam through her head over and over again and it didn't even matter if it was true or not. Sharpay was hardly ever one to be unconfident about herself but this was different. This was a rare time and it was hitting her hard. She kept thinking the same thing and no matter how bad she wanted it to, it just would not leave her head.

_I'm a terrible sister-in-law._

-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ

Dylan tapped his pencil on his desk as his eyes scanned through one of his textbooks. His final exam wasn't for another two days but he wanted to try and remember at least a little of the material before the last minute. A notebook was resting beside the textbook and he was more than ready to take notes from each chapter, just to refresh his memory. But there was one minor issue with that. He couldn't focus. It was the same thing that happened with him during his AP Government final. He kept blanking out. Normally he'd do that if nerves got the better of him or if he had a moment of lapse where he's forget a decent amount of the study material. But that wasn't the case now. Dylan just couldn't get his mind off of his parents. Why did they have to pick now of all times to fight constantly? Why just before he was getting ready to graduate high school? Dill couldn't help but keep asking himself if maybe he did something wrong, or accidentally provoked the fighting in any way shape or form. And what made it even worse, they were fighting just as he was reviewing. The arguing echoed throughout the house and even with his door closed most of the way, nothing was blacked out. It was beginning to drive Dylan crazy.

"Chad this is ridiculous. Why on Earth do you pick now of all times to go?" Taylor questioned.

"You know exactly why Taylor. I can't stay here right now." Chad argued. "My decision is final."

She scoffed. "Just because you're the 'man of the house' does not mean you can make a decision without consulting me or telling the kids about it first. You are going to worry them."

"Well if you tell them where I'm going then maybe there wouldn't be anything for you to worry about. Or them, for that matter!" he retorted.

"I don't have to deal with this and you know it. You always do this Chad. You make things harder than they need to be."

"Don't you pull that with me again!"

Dylan groaned and slapped his pencil against the desk. He was amazed that Trina could sleep through this. He didn't even know where Cheryl was or if she heard what was going on. But before he could even think about doing anything else, his door creaked as it was swung open all the way and Cheryl entered.

"Dill you gotta come see this." She said going over to him and tugging on his arm.

"Not now Cherry. I have to study." He sighed.

"You're the one who's always worried about Mom and Dad. Well now you have a real reason to be." Cheryl replied.

"What are you talking about? You're the one who laughs whenever they do this. It's like you never even worry about them because you're so sure it lasts for no more than a day and they work things out. And what's more ironic, you're the troublemaking one of us and love causing fights yet pay no attention as to when they fight." Dylan reminded her.

She rolled her eyes. "It's different this time. I think it's serious. Dad has a suitcase with him."

Dylan's eyes widened as he snapped his head towards his sister. "What?" he gasped.

"It's true. Come see." She replied, pulling him out of the bedroom and to the staircase. If they stood high enough up at just the right angle not to be seen by their parents, but close enough to see what was going on, then they'd be safe. They did just that and what Dylan couldn't believe was that his sister was right. Chad was closer to the door and was facing Taylor. He had a suitcase in one hand and his car keys in the other, and Taylor had her hands on her hips.

"Don't you even think about leaving this house Chad." Taylor demanded. "We're not finished yet."

"We're finished when I say we're finished!" Chad argued, sounding like he didn't intend on backing down any time soon. "I know how much you hate this, and I'm not too thrilled about it either. But it has to be done. You know it, I know it, heck I bet all of New Mexico and part of Idaho knows it!"

"Idaho is not one of the states surrounding New Mexico!" she yelled.

"Well no need to get worked up over my issues with geography!" he yelled back. "I'm outta here Tay. Don't try and stop me."

"You're walking out on your family if you leave."

"I'll be walking out on my family if I don't leave."

"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want! I don't care anymore!"

"Fine. Go and not care all you want. I'm outta here. And I'm taking my half of the DVD set of the first season of Smallville!"

"Take whatever you want Chad. But I'm taking your half of the closet after all of this!"

"Fine!" He screamed, then stormed out the door and slammed it behind him.

"Fine!" Taylor yelled back and stormed her own way into the kitchen.

Dylan and Cheryl exchanged glances. They ran back upstairs and into Dylan's room, closing the door behind them. They couldn't believe what they just heard.

"Did they really say all of that?" he asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "They never actually take their halves of their DVD box sets anywhere."

Dylan hit his forehead. "I'm talking about what they were fighting about." He told her. "But Dad said he'd be letting down his family if he stayed here."

"What'd he mean by that?" she asked.

Dylan just shook his head, not wanting what he wanted to say to come out. "Cherry…. I think Dad's cheating on Mom. And he's going back to his other family."

"Wait…so you're saying…that they just broke up?" Cheryl asked slowly, almost afraid that she actually said it.

He shook his head again. He didn't want to believe it, but the evidence was all there. It would explain everything – the fighting, the silent treatments, avoiding talking about each other…. The signs were all there. Dylan saw it happen with a couple of other families and saw scenes like that on reality TV shows, but he never imagined it could occur in his own family. At first he couldn't even bring himself to say anything. But somehow, he let the words escape him.

"I think they did."

**TO BE CONTINUED…. **

**

* * *

**Yup, I'm leaving you with a cliffhanger! =0 Now honestly do you really think I'd ever break up the dream team over here? But if you really wanna know what's gonna happen with them you're just gonna have to wait in suspense...you know, if anyone out there really is waiting. ^^' So we had some Zeke and Sharpay in this chapter for a change as well. By the end of the finale they will most definitely have their first child. And then there's that side issue with Kelsi and Ryan. Who ever saw that coming, huh? Sorry, there's not really going to be much Troy and Gabriella here I think. Well...maybe. Not entirely sure yet. But they get so much action as it is we need the minor couples to shine, too. So, now part one is done. Stick around for part two!


	17. The Finale: Part Two

Ok time to get the second part of the finale up here. Yes, I'm updating two stories in one day. kinda shocking considering how lazy I've been feeling. But I come bearing good news. i'm gonna get more organized since i'm one of the most disorganized people I know. I went out today and bought an organizer...and some pencils...and some pens...and a journal. Yeah, and the pencils and journal are both HSM related of course. So hopefully that'll help me get more stories in and whatnot. But as of right now, what I'm going to do while I'm at work is, while I have any time, do sort of like a rough draft for the next chapter of my Beauty and the Beast HSM version and then that can get up semi-quicker. That way I'll have more time at home to finish this and any other stories i hope to finish soon. And hopefully soon I'm planning on writing a few other fanfictions or oneshots for other TV shows and such. Already have plans brainstorming for those. So in the meantime, hope you enjoy part two of the finale.

* * *

**Chapter Seventeen: The Finale, Part Two**

_Previously: On the last fiction-episode, Dylan was struggling preparing for his finals and getting himself ready for graduation. It sprung an argument between parents Chad and Taylor which worried Dylan greatly. In the meantime, Sharpay was having a sister-ish conversation with Kelsi. Sharpay was overjoyed that she and Zeke could finally adopt a child of their own but Kelsi reveals that she can't have anymore children of her own. Sharpay is the only one who knows and she's sworn to complete secrecy. Dylan tried to find out why his parents are fighting and if there's something he can do but his questions go unanswered. In the midst of studying for his last final, he and Cheryl overhear Chad and Taylor arguing. Chad leaves with a suitcase in hand, leaving his family behind. So will this family problem distract Dylan from his upcoming final? What will Sharpay's and Zeke's first son look like? Will Kelsi come clean to Ryan about her secret? And is this really the end for Chad and Taylor? We now return to The Finale...._

"working hard or hardly working?"

Dylan picked his head up to see his sister walk into his room. He was quite surprised, actually. Their father had walked out of the house a couple of days ago and Dylan was freaking out. And it wasn't just because he feared that meant the end of his parents' relationship. He was also very concerned because of his last final for school before graduation and, wouldn't you know it, he couldn't concentrate because he was so worried about the family. And yet Cheryl still seemed to find a way to make a joke about something. Pheh; Dill hadn't seen her joking when her teacher was being a jack-a, and on the first day of school for her no doubt. So what, she was only able to joke around when it was anyone but her who was having a bad day or something? Alright so yeah, Dylan was letting his fear and frustration get the better of him as such thoughts ran through his head, but he couldn't help it. If there was a bright side, at least he wasn't yelling and cursing at his not-even-ten-year-old sister. so what he ended up doing was sighing and dropping his pencil on his textbook on his desk top.

"I can't focus. It's my last final before graduation and if I don't ace it..."

"Please I've looked at your grades." Cheryl rolled her eyes.

"Since when? You're still learning how to read." Dylan replied.

"It helps. I can tell the difference between B's and D's now." Cheryl told him. "Cause all you get are B's and A's."

"Cherry I really don't need this right now. Unlike you, I'm actually worried about Mom and Dad." Dylan replied.

"i was worried." she pouted.

"Yeah, when you saw him leave." he replied. "You've been all chill-ax for the past day or two already."

"Maybe because I actually know how to get distracted?" she guessed, shrugging her shoulders.

Dylan stared at his younger sister and shook his head. "You are one crazy little girl. One day you're hyper, the next day you're worried, and the day after that you're trying to tell me to calm down?"

"I guess so." she said. "Besides, Dad has to come back right? It's not like he left forever."

Dylan bit his tongue. Now he knew why Cheryl was so calm. She really thought Chad was going to come back. She just didn't understand the concept. when parents argued and one of them left with a suitcase, surely that had 'divorce' written all over the scene in really big hard letters. Either that or it was a very angry way of saying they needed some time apart or something. But Dylan had heard their fight and he highly doubted it. There was no way Chad would come back unless it was to pick things up for himself. And as much as he hated to admit it, the thought of only being with his mother freaked him out. Dylan had always been close to both his parents and even though he was adopted, he felt like they both were there for him his whole life. He couldn't get through college with them apart and hating each other. And what about his sisters? Trina was still an infant so she'd go through her whole life barely knowing Chad, and Cheryl was so close to him.

"You're more naive than you led on to believe, you know." Dylan stated shaking his head.

Cheryl raised an eyebrow. "What's that mean?"

"not now Cherry. I gotta try and get somewhere to focus." Dylan replied. "Keep an eye on Trina ok? mom's still in the shower so she'll be out soon." He gathered his books and left the room.

Cheryl sighed and blew some bangs out of her face. "However long that'll be." she muttered.

-insert couple here-insert couple here-insert couple here-

Ryan sat at the home computer typing vicariously. his eyes were completely focused on the screen and it looked like almost nothing would distract him. For Ryan, that was ironic. Normally when he was dancing or teaching a class almost nothing could distract him. But he seemed so much more into what he was doing now. Aside from his eye looking at the screen, Kelsi's eyes shortly joined his. She entered the room and looked at the screen, standing behind Ryan.

"I just put Travis to sleep." she stated.

"That's why it's so quiet in here." Ryan realized.

"Let's be honest, when we're not doing anything music related it's always quiet in here." Kelsi said.

"Guess so." Ryan said.

Kelsi raised an eyebrow as she stared at the screen. She could see what it said, and she could get a faint idea of what Ryan was doing...but she had no idea what exactly he was doing or what the reasoning was. "You seem very into the Internet tonight. Looking for more reruns of Dancing with the Stars on YouTube?"

Ryan chuckled. "I wish. Nah, I'm actually doing research on schools."

Of course he was. Well, at least he caught onto Kelsi's joke. "What for? I thought we agreed not to start thinking about colleges for Travis until he started showing his talents. Or at least until middle school."

"not colleges." Ryan shook his head.

"Well you're not going back to school for anything are you?" she wondered. "Because I'm pretty sure I don't need to go back to school for anything."

"Actually the schools are for Travis. But I'm not looking into colleges for him." Ryan answered.

"So why the sudden interest in an education for him? He just learned to speak two months ago, and he's still got the cold legs thing going so he hasn't even learned to walk yet." Kelsi replied.

"I know. So he's a late walker is all. It's not a big deal. Sharpay didn't start walking until she was two." Ryan chuckled. He quickly turned to Kelsi and pointed on her. "You won't tell her I said that, right? She's always fed everyone the story that she learned to do everything at six months."

"My lips are sealed." kelsi promised. "So about those schools..."

"Well it is only gonna be a matter of time before Travis starts Prekindergarten soon." Ryan shrugged. "I thought it'd be a good idea to start looking at the schools now and seeing which one would be the best for him."

"They'd have to be close by." Kelsi reminded him.

"Of course. I eliminated all the ones that are a half hour and more away. That narrows it down to three places, and it covers PreK and Kindergarten, Well, one of them does anyway. I even started looking into some elementary schools which start as early as Kindergarten and end at fifth grade, and one at sixth." he said.

Kelsi was quite surprised. She didn't know that Ryan was so into this. He was taking it so seriously...more so than anything else, even dancing or his own job. That meant one of two things: that he was really sick, or that he was really letting it show how much he cared for his son. No one ever suspected that Ryan never cared of course, but it was almost like he was finally letting it shine how much he did and that it was something that needed to be taken seriously, that parenthood and raising a child was more than just fun and games. It was quite amazing, actually.

"You're really incredible, you know that?" Kelsi asked, finding herself at a loss for any other words.

Ryan chuckled modestly and shook his head. "I might have been told a few things to that extent." he said as he stood up. 'Come on. It's getting late. Maybe we should go to bed."

Kelsi took one step back as Ryan took a step forward. "I'm not tired right now. I think I'll grab a quick snack or something."

Ryan raised an eyebrow. "Kels...are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm just not tired right now." she replied.

"Kelsi..." Ryan started.

"I'll be in the kitchen." she interrupted before he could say anything else. With that, she turned around and left Ryan in the room by himself and hopelessly confused.

-RK-RK-RK-RK-RK-

After taking his last final of his high school career, Dylan walked into his house and nearly slammed the door behind him. No ,that didn't mean he was angry. It just meant he was stressed. Beyond stressed, actually. he always thought he would get a B on an important test, partially because sometimes it seemed that hard to him and partially so he wouldn't feel so overconfident that he aced it when it'd turn out he got below an A instead. But neither of those were the cases today and it was obvious why, so there was no need for further explanation.

"Hey, you're home." Taylor said as she picked up her head from the food she was making. "Dinner's in about an hour. I was expecting you home earlier."

"But you didn't call." Dylan said.

"That's because I know you were nervous about your exam and you maybe wanted to go out somewhere and clear your head after you took it." Taylor answered.

"I guess I did a little." he admitted. He looked down and twiddled his thumbs as his mom went back to chopping vegetables. "Hey Mom...can I ask you something?"

"Of course. As long as it's not the talk." Taylor replied.

Dylan raised an eyebrow from confusion. "What?"

"nothing." she responded quickly looking at him. "You were saying?"

Dylan stared at her for a minute. Then he shook his head, deciding to get to the point. "What's going on with you and Dad?"

Taylor blinked. "What?"

"Tell me, Mom. "he nearly begged. "I need to know."

"Your dad's going to come back for graduation. He had somewhere to go." Taylor said.

"that's not good enough." Dylan insisted. "Mom how bad is it with you and Dad? How worried should I be?"

"You shouldn't be worried at all. You should be focusing on school. You just took your last final and have a graduation ceremony coming up." Taylor told him.

"You mean the one that I just failed?" Dylan questioned.

Taylor's eyes widened. "What?"

"I flunked Mom, ok? I flunked. I took a round trip ticket to Flunk Central and missed the train back to Straight A Village!" Dylan said exasperated.

Well he certainly had his father's sense of humor, that was for sure. Related or not. Too bad he wasn't laughing. And it wasn't a laughing matter. "Dill, honey what's wrong?" Taylor asked concerned as she walked over to him.

"What's wrong is you and Dad. I'm freaking out ok?" he replied. "I was lucky to get halfway through my final. And whether I was here or at the library I still couldn't focus on studying. Cause all I could think about was you and Dad fighting and Dad leaving with a suitcase probably never coming back."

"Dylan, you're jumping to conclusions..." she started.

"forget the fricken conclusions!" he spat. "I'm about to graduate and Dad isn't here. I need him here Mom. I need both of you. can't you just put your differences aside and try and get along for one day?"

"Dill, let me explain..." she tried.

"No need. I get it. I get exactly what's going on." Dylan shook his head. "What I don't get is why you and Dad couldn't tell thinks everything is gonna be ok but it's not. Ok? It's not gonna be alright and it's not gonna get better. I'm tired of you guys fighting and I'm tired of you guys keeping me out of the loop. And for all I care you can both just skip out on my graduation cause I'm not going!" He ran around and left the house as fast as he could, slamming the door behind him much louder.

Taylor raised an eyebrow. She had no idea what got into Dylan. He's never acted like that before, let alone acted out. It actually worried her. This was not Dylan. It couldn't be Dylan. Something was terribly wrong. Knowing she couldn't handle it on her own and she would need some assistance, and also aware that Dylan wouldn't open up about anything that easily, she had to make a call. Walking over to her phone, she dialed a number and waited for an answer on the other end.

"Chad? We've got a problem."

-???-???-???-???-???-

"He was doing WHAT now?" Sharpay exclaimed.

"Sharpay please don't make me say it again." Kelsi begged as she sat on the couch in Sharpay's living room yet again watching Sharpay pace around the room back and forth. Kelsi was surprised she hadn't moved into Sharpay's house yet. Almost three times a week she saw herself sitting on the couch and watching Sharpay pace back and forth no matter which one of them was talking. It was like their own deranged way of bonding, it began to feel like.

"Kelsi you have to tell him." Sharpay insisted.

"I know but I just don't have the heart to." Kelsi admitted. "you should have seen him, Sharpay. Ryan was so excited to be looking for schools for Travis."

sharpay rubbed her forehead. "Kelsi you still have to tell him. What if this is a sign that Ryan wants to do this again?" she looked down to see her nephew Travis, who had grown much more hair since the last time she saw him, tugging on her dress. Sharapy shook her head at the little boy. "No, no. Pull on something that won't fall down." she told Travis as she picked him up.

"I'm sorry Sharpay. You want me to take him?" Kelsi asked.

"I got him," she assured her. "But Kelsi this isn't a secret you can keep from Ryan. Either you both live with just Travis or you look into adoption. Maybe even surrogate parents."

"I could never." Kelsi shook her head.

"Well, I hate to break it to you hon, but there's no way around it. I know I promised I wouldn't tell anyone, but this is my brother we're talking about. My little brother. My little _twin_brother. Who I work with almost every day at school and who I've known since literally day if you don't talk to him about this then I'm going to have to tell him myself. "Sharpay said as she held Travis in her two arms.

"Sharpay, don't." Kelsi begged.

"There's no way around it Kels. I'm sorry. But I finally got used to practically being related to you and this whole demented sister bonding thing we do. i don't want all that to go down the drain just because you can't tell Ryan Travis is going to be your only child." Sharpay said.

"And what if it's alright for Travis to be an only child? I don't have any brothers or sisters." Kelsi replied.

"That's perfectly fine. But if Ryan ever brings up the question about giving Travis any siblings you have to tell him. There's no getting around it." Sharpay said.

"But how am I supposed to tell Ryan I can't give him anymore babies?" Kelsi gasped, becoming so frustrated from the conversation.

That's when Sharpay's mouth dropped open. It surely wasn't a good sign. and if anything, it was a hint that Kelsi opened her mouth at the wrong time. "Maybe right now..." she said slowly, not letting the dramatic tension take over for once. She pointed toward the door where Kelsi turned her head and Ryan stood right there in the doorway. Yes he looked surprised. But he also looked hurt. Why? He didn't even open his mouth to speak. It was a very tense, very awkward moment. There was no other way to describe it. The whole scene just spoke for itself. It was the classic 'person opening their mouth at the wrong time just when the person they were keeping the secret from appears behind them and overheard the whole thing, then runs out leaving not wanting to hear anymore about it' deal. Yes, it was that self explanatory. Because that's just what Ryan ended up doing. He didn't say anything to either of the girls. He just ran out. And after that it was nothing but quiet.

-couple-couple-couple-couple-couple-

This was it. At long last, the morning of the senior class of East High graduating. All around Albuquerque the students were taking pictures with their family and getting ready. they got dressed and put on their gowns, talked to their friends to figure out meeting spots at the school, and all the basics. This year was especially going to be big. The graduating class was one of the largest ones in the history of East High so the principal decided to hold the graduation ceremony at the University of Albuquerque. The ceremony would take place in the large college gymnasium, as the day would end up being quite hot. Plus the gym had air conditioning so everyone would feel much more comfortable. But there was just one minor issue - or rather major issue.

Dylan sat on the couch in the living room, his arms folded and his back slumped. He was in more than just a bad mood. Even Cheryl could see that. She was sitting next to him and looking back and forth between her brother and the TV. "You look mad."

"Thanks captain obvious." he muttered. "We're stuck watching some kiddie show at eight a.m."

Cheryl pointed at baby Trina, who was sitting in her bouncy chair in front of the couch. "It's a show for babies. She's a baby."

"It's Blue's Clues." Dylan retorted.

"Ok cranky, no need to be all cranky about a show about a blue dog with an old guy who thinks he's a lot younger than he really is and leaves to go to college when we all know he should have been in college a long time ago but the actor really only left the show to pursue a different career." Cheryl said.

Dylan stared at his sister and raised an eyebrow. How did she figure that out and where the heck did all of that information come from? Who was he kidding? How would she even know all that?

Cheryl just watched him and shrugged her shoulders. "I read it on the Internet to help me learn to read more."

"And yet she can't read the entire kid's book for the Lion King." Dylan muttered.

"Huh?" Cheryl raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing." he replied quickly.

What none of the kids had come to notice was that Chad had come in through the front door ever so quietly and was having a just as quiet yet brief conversation with Taylor. He put his suitcase down and his keys on the hook, almost as though he were there to question was, why was he back all of the sudden? Obviously a call had been made and Chad had no choice but to answer it. one thing he was sure of: he was there for his family.

"I'm home." he whispered to Taylor as he walked through the front door.

"What took you so long?" Taylor whispered back. She had been standing near the door almost as if she had been waiting for him to come.

"My flight was running late." Chad apologized. "Is everything ok?"

"No everything is not ok. I'm worried about Dylan." Taylor replied. "He thinks he actually failed a final for real."

"What?" Chad asked. "He never fails."

"He barely got halfway through his last exam." she told him. "Chad, he was worried about us. He must have heard us fighting and it distracted him from his studies."

"So what'll we do?" Chad asked, getting more worried now. "This isn't like Dill. He doesn't stress easily, he doesn't fail...what's next? Talking back?"

"Well he did snap when I asked him about that final." she stated.

"Ok that is definitely not our son." Chad shook his head.

"I know." Taylor replied. "We have to talk to him."

"Today?" he asked.

"Yes, today."

"But today's graduation. We were all gonna be there. What about that guest we talked about?"

"He doesn't want to go."

"What?"

"Dylan's been there on the couch with cheryl and Trina watching Noggin all morning. He really doesn't want to go to his own graduation. We have to change his mind."

"So what do we tell him?"

"There's only one thing we can do."

Chad nodded as though he knew exactly where this was going. "Tell the truth?"

Taylor nodded. "We have to tell him everything."

They locked eyes but didn't move or say anything. Chad then gave a single nod and kenw what they had to do. "We're goin in."

The two of them walked away from the door and over towards the children. Cautiously they stepped forward. It was going to be more than awkward, they knew that. But they had to do it. Not only would it possibly be the only way to get Dylan to attend his own graduation, but it might be just what they needed. To clear the atmosphere and show their honesty with their kids. Nothing else needed to be explained or done. It would all be witnessed, and most likely with an unexpected outcome. Taylor stepped forward first and turned off the TV, then joined Chad to face the kids.

"Dad you're back!" Cheryl exclaimed.

"Yes, what a surprise. Come to break it to us gently?" Dylan asked sarcastically.

"Break what?" Chad asked.

"Forget it." Dylan shook his head. He got up and was about to walk over to the stairs. This was not like him at all. Surely something had to be done. Neither Chad or Taylor had to take such drastic measures to keep their son under control. Normally if any of their children got in trouble it was Cheryl. But in her case she really took after Chad. After all he had always been the trouble maker. But this was completely different. While Dylan wasn't theirs biologically he did pick up a few of their qualities in being raised by them. Getting into trouble easily was not on that list of qualities. The parents exchanged glances, not entirely sure what to do at first. They looked back at Dylan and Chad was the first to speak up.

"Dill come back here. We didn't even get to start yet." he said simply. But still Dylan moved. He was at the foot of the steps and about to walk up to his room.

"Dylan McKessie-Danforth, get your butt back down here and sit!" Taylor demanded. While it got Dylan to stop dead in his tracks, Taylor automatically put her hand over her mouth. She never had to scold Dylan before. Slightly reprimand Cheryl a couple of times, maybe. Yell at Chad for their usual fights, always. But never yell at Dylan. And when that happened there was something wrong, indefinitely. "I can't believe I just did that." she couldn't help but squeak through her closed mouth.

Dylan couldn't believe it either. So that's what it felt like to get punished. It was so...uncomfortable. He didn't like it. And while he was still mad, he didn't really wish to get yelled at again. He slowly walked back over to the couch and sat down. But Dylan was sure to keep his irritated tone heard so his parents knew how upset he was with them. "What?"

"Dill we just wanna talk." Chad said as calmly as he could.

"And you couldn't think of that before?" the teen demanded. "I heard you guys arguing. Cheryl and I both did. And I can't believe you'd keep something like that from both of us. Why didn't you tell us when the fighting started?"

"What are you talking about? "Chad asked.

"you know exactly what I'm talking about! So can you just tell us so I can go up to my room?" Dylan questioned.

"You're not going anywhere Dylan. You're staying down here." Chad insisted.

"i don't wanna stay down here. And I don't wanna go to my stinking graduation either."

"Well you didn't think it was so stinking last week."

"And where were you anyway? Oh that's right. Not here."

In the midst of the boys' arguing Cheryl and Trina looked back and forth between each one as they gave their retort. Now Cheryl wasn't concerned or relaxed. She was just plain entertained. It wasn't every day...or even every other day...that her brother and father got in the middle of some kind of smack-down. And Trina...well let's be honest, she had no idea what was going on. But she seemed more into this than she was in the TV show. If they had popcorn right now Cheryl would probably be eating it and Trina would be on the edge of her seat. But that wasn't the case so they just listened to the fighting.

"I had other business to take care of." Chad replied.

"You mean other other family?" Dylan demanded.

Taylor raised an eyebrow and looked at Chad. "What other family?"

"No other family." Chad shook his head.

"Dad stop lying. I know what you were doing. you have another family that you were gonna see and dump us to be with them. You were cheating on Mom!" Dylan gasped.

"What?" Chad and Taylor's mouths dropped.

"Yeah. And now you guys are gonna get a divorce." Dylan added.

"A divorce?" they repeated.

"Dylan where would you get an idea like that?" Taylor asked.

"When you guys were fighting." Dylan replied. "Remember?"

_"Don't you even think about leaving this house Chad." Taylor demanded. "We're not finished yet."_

_"We're finished when I say we're finished!" Chad argued, sounding like he didn't intend on backing down any time soon. "I know how much you hate this, and I'm not too thrilled about it either. But it has to be done. You know it, I know it, heck I bet all of New Mexico and part of Idaho knows it!"_

_"Idaho is not one of the states surrounding New Mexico!" she yelled._

_"Well no need to get worked up over my issues with geography!" he yelled back. "I'm outta here Tay. Don't try and stop me."_

_"You're walking out on your family if you leave."_

_"I'll be walking out on my family if I don't leave."_

_"You know what? Do whatever the hell you want! I don't care anymore!"_

_"Fine. Go and not care all you want. I'm outta here. And I'm taking my half of the DVD set of the first season of Smallville!"_

_"Take whatever you want Chad. But I'm taking your half of the closet after all of this!"_

_"Fine!" He screamed, then stormed out the door and slammed it behind him._

_"Fine!" Taylor yelled back and stormed her own way into the kitchen._

"Wait...you thought...?" Chad asked. He shook his head. He couldn't even find the words to describe how he was feeling or how shocked he was. He was almost ready to fall over just thinking about the assumption his son just made.

Taylor moved some hair out of her face trying to gather herself. Had they really frightened him that much? "Dill..." she sighed as she walked over to him. She sat down beside the teen and hugged him gently. "We're sorry. We didn't mean to scare or upset you."

"Yeah. Just because we fight doesn't mean we stop loving each other." Chad added.

"But you had a suitcase." Dylan said. "You said you'd be letting down your family if you stayed."

"It wasn't a whole other family." Chad shook his head. "It was my sister."

"Your sister?" Dylan blinked.

"You have a sister?" Cheryl asked. "Since when? Last week? How do you get one on the spot?"

"It doesn't quite work like that." Chad said.

Taylor sat upright and kept a hand on Dylan's shoulder. "Your aunt and I never got along. And especially after the last time we saw each other, we left off on a bad foot."

"so she walks with a limp?" Cheryl asked.

"No." Taylor shook her head. "It means we fought. We were lucky enough to tolerate each other any other time we saw each other. But last time we got into a fight. We said some things and it didn't end well."

"How unwell are we talking?" For some reason Cheryl's curiosity was peaked by this. Dylan was just sitting there and listening, taking everything in and matching it with everything he and Cheryl overheard their parents say.

"Very bad. I'm surprised they didn't start an all-out cat fight turned war." Chad said. He sat down on the other end of the couch, placing Trina on his lap and scooching close to Cheryl, who was now up against Dylan. "It was bad enough for my sister to say that we were making a mistake getting married and starting a family. and your mom saying that she wished I never had a sister and they never even met. But she called earlier and got sick. And even if my sis and I hate each others' guts a lot of the time, I wanted to see her and end everything on a lighter note in case we wouldn't see each other again. That's why I was so insistent on going."

"And your Smallville DVD's?" Dylan finally asked.

"An insignificant factor in the argument we had before your father left." Taylor said simply, deciding to leave it at that.

"So you guys aren't getting a divorce?" Dylan asked.

"Of course not." Chad said. "We're not gonna break up that easily. We love each other and we love you guys."

"Told you not to worry." Cheryl sang to Dylan.

"Hey you were worried first." Dill replied.

Chad chuckled. "The point is that we're here and we're together. And we're not at the ceremony. Why haven't we left yet?"

"Because no one is dressed in their proper attire." Taylor said, eyeing her kids. "Cherry, you first. Go change into your new outfit."

"After I have a Trix Ice Pop. "Cheryl decided as she hopped off the couch and headed to the kitchen.

Chad glanced at Taylor and raised an eyebrow. "And you're the one who tells me not to feed them junk for breakfast." he teased.

"Hey, it's better than when she actually wanted to eat that Hershey chocolate bar for lunch." Taylor said.

"It was dark chocolate." Chad shrugged.

"Which still doesn't make it a lunch." Taylor said. She looked at Dylan. "You have some graduating to do young man. Go and get changed." she said calmly.

"Yeah. You don't wanna be late for that." Chad added.

Dylan looked at both of them and nodded. "Ok. I'm sorry I went conclusion jumping and I probably failed my final."

"Hey it's just one final." Chad chuckled. He looked at Taylor who raised an eyebrow and gave him her look. Yes, the look that made a chill run down his spine and know he had to change his answer quick. "I mean you really should do better once you start college." he quickly corrected himself.

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "Ok. See you guys in five." He smiled at his parents and got off the couch, heading for upstairs. As he reached the foot of the steps, Dylan turned around to look at the two of them. He could see them cuddling up to each other on the couch. They looked so much more happier. Chad had his arm draped around Taylor and Taylor had her head resting on his shoulder. And they looked happy. After the scare Dylan had gone through, he honestly didn't think that he'd ever see suc a sight again. It was so...peaceful. So relieving. And it made him feel better than he had felt in days. As much as he'd love to just stand there and secretly watch them longer, he knew he couldn't. They were right; he did have major graduating to do. And with both of his parents there he couldn't feel happier.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

"Ryan please just listen..."

"How could you not tell me?"

Kelsi stopped following Ryan around the house and just stopped where she was, staring at him. She didn't want it to go down like this. She was sure no one did. But it wasn't her fault. It was the wrong place at the wrong time sort of thing. And Ryan had overheard. There was no escaping it now. But as much as she wanted to give a straight answer, when Kelsi opened her mouth to speak nothing but stammers came out. "I...uh..."

"Kelsi this isn't something you keep to yourself. Or even just tell Sharpay. Talk to me, Kelsi. I need to know these things." Ryan told her.

"I know." Kelsi nodded. "But you avoided me all night. You wouldn't let me get a say in at all."

"How long have you even been keeping this from me?" Ryan asked. "Because however long it was, I still had the right to know. I still do. And I had to find out by walking into my sister's house and overhearing you."

"That's not how I planned on telling you." she shook her head.

"I'm sure it isn't." Ryan replied. "But Kels...when were you planning on telling me?"

Kelsi looked down, then back up at Ryan. "I guess whenever you asked if we could give Travis any siblings. You were so excited about him getting ready to start PreK soon, and you were already looking for elementary schools for him...I thought that meant you were ready to have another baby. And I just choked, ok? I couldn't tell you."

"Can you at least tell me one thing about it?" he asked.

"Same story it always seems to be when something like this happens. The first baby screws up the system." she sighed.

"You could have just told me. I wouldn't have been mad, Kelsi. I can understand if we can't have anymore kids. But I can't know this if you don't talk to me. I thought we always understood each other." Ryan said.

"We do, Ry. We do." Kelsi said looking him in the eyes.

"Then why keep this from me?" he asked.

But Kelsi couldn't bring herself ot answer. That was just it. She had no straight answer. She had no decent excuse. She had just been so afraid of Ryan's reaction that she panicked. Oddly enough the only person Kelsi was able to bring herself to confess to was sharpay, and that was a complete accident. No one was supposed to know. She was hoping the topic wouldn't even come up. But it had. But just because Kelsi had thought about her wording and how to word everything over and over again, didn't make it any easier. "I don't know." she finally said quietly shaking her head.

Ryan sighed. As hard as it was to believe, he wasn't angry. Disappointed maybe, but not angry. "It's ok if we can't have any more children, Kelsi. It's no big deal."

When Kelsi didn't believe Ryan, she just stared blankly at him.

Ryan merely shrugged his shoulders. "Multiple child families are overrated anyway. We don't need more kids to make me happy. Just the fact that I have you and Travis, that's more than enough for me. And Sharpay and Zeke are adopting. We're getting a nephew. Our family's growing, Kels. I'm happy just the way things are." he explained. "Besides, this means we can spoil Travis more."

Kelsi shook her head but it almost looked like a small smile crept onto her face. "You're not serious..."

"Oh, very serious." Ryan chuckled. "He's gonna be a male version of Sharpay!"

Kelsi's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Ryan!" she gasped.

Ryan just laughed and made a run for it down the hall of their house.

"Ryan you are not serious!" Kelsi called as she chased after her laughing husband. "Get back here Ryan, I'm not done with you yet!"

-RK-RK-RK-RK-RK-

"Congratulations to the graduating class!" the principal exclaimed.

With that, the students stood up from their seats in their caps and gowns and exited the gym row by row while the band played. Yup, Dylan had made it to the ceremony just on time. It took a lot of rushing and almost no time for pictures but it was worth it. His family was together and that's all that really mattered to him. With his diploma in hand, Dylan followed his row out. The hallway outside the U of A gymnasium was packed with students. They were cheering and sharing hugs and everything. Dylan scanned the crowd for any of his friends, knowing that in due time he would catch up with his family. They'd be waiting outside with the rest of their families for their kids to exit.

"Yo dude!"

Dylan grinned as he turned to his old friend Cooper. They exchanged high fives and a man hug.

"We finally did it! We are outta high school!" Cooper cheered. "Took ya long enough to get here."

"Sorry man. I had a few family matters to take care of." Dylan apologized.

"I'm sure you did." Cooper nodded. "Point is that you made it. But man did you really miss out on some alone time with your lady friend." He snapped his fingers and nudged Dylan.

Dylan chuckled, knowing Cooper was talking about Dylan's girlfriend Kiara. "I'll make sure to give her a call if I don't see her." he said.

"And you're sounding calm about her for once." Cooper noticed.

It was true. at once Dylan had been nervous just thinking about talking to Kiara. But even after the two started dating Dylan still got the chills once in a while. Everything had always been one step at a time with them. But onw they were out of high school and dylan didn't know what was ahead. And yet, he didn't care as much as he thought he did. He wasn't sure if he would think about girls for a while now or if he'd just try and get used to the college scene first while enjoying the summer with his friends. He wasn't like a lot of teenagers. He didn't care about going to third base with a girl or even having a girlfriend - well in some cases anyway. He hadn't thought about living on the edge or trying to be cool or show anyone up. But Dylan knew what was most important to him and that's what he cared about now.

"I've spent the entire block of finals worrying about my parents and if they were gonna stay together." he confessed to his friend. "I should've realized all along that our family's going strong and that they're always there. I think that's what I really needed for today."

"Hey what about me?" Cooper gasped, feigning pain. "I'm supposed to be your best friend."

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. "Well if you wanna be kicked behind homework on my most important list and go from number two to number three..."

"I'm just fine with being number two." Cooper said right away with a chuckle. "Now c'mon. Let's go catch up with our 'rents."

Dylan nodded in agreement and the boys headed up. They left the gym area and headed outside. It didn't take long for Dylan to find his family. He didn't even waste any time; he ran right over to them. He grinned widely and exchanged a high five with a very hyper Chad.

"How does it feel to be officially out of high school?" Chad asked eagerly.

"A lot better thn I thought." Dylan admitted, the smile not once leaving his face.

"Well we're really proud of you." Taylor said enveloping him in a hug. "And we're glad you actually decided to make it."

"I'm just glad everything's back to normal." Dylan said. "I kept thinking that something was wrong. But I let my stress get the better of me and I didn't wanna leave everything we cared about in high school."

"Smart move Dill." Chad nodded. "we almost left something behind in high school. But it's never too late to get it back." Chad said wrapping his arm around Taylor, who was holding Trina in both her arms.

"I guess so." Dylan nodded with a smile. He moved in on Chad's side and Cheryl on Taylor's side, the five of them sharing a family hug.

"We're not gonna take a bazillion pictures are we?" Cheryl moaned. Yup, she had to go there.

"No, but I think this is a good family photo moment." Chad said. He looked over at Cooper. "Yo, Coop-man." He saw Cooper turn to them, then Chad tossed his camera over. "Mind snapping a pic for us?"

"You kidding? It's the first time I touched a camera since I broke my last one." Cooper laughed.

"I'm not even gonna ask." Chad muttered.

Cooper just shook his head and took a picture perfect photograph of the family. "I gotta go find my folks." he said tossing his camera back to Chad.

"Tell them to keep an eye out for us later. we'll have a celebratory dinner or something." Chad called as Cooper ran off.

"Celebratory isn't a word, last I checked." Taylor shook her head.

"Well it is now." Chad said. "I made it up all by myself."

"You mean like picklijuice?" Cheryl asked.

"No...that's two serparate words you smushed together into one word." Chad said.

"But she made it up all by herself." Taylor replied mocking Chad.

Chad laughed and playfully nudged her, which caused Taylor to nudge him back.

Dylan laughed as he watched his parents. "So should we get out of here and take some pictures? There's plenty of room in our backyard."

"Sure thing." Chad said. "But first there's someone here to see you."

Dylan cocked an eyebrow. He watched as Chad and Taylor moved aside and a man about the same age as them stepped forward. Something about him just seemed so familiar. His skin was much lighter and his hair...was it a red shade, or black? Maybe it was black with red highlights. Dylan couldn't tell right away, most likely because he was in shock seeing the face. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew he looked familiar somehow. And it didn't hit him right away...until he heard the man's voice.

"Hey Dylan. It's been a long time."

Dylan shook his head as he stared at him. Something in the back of his mind told him he knew this man. But he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Who's that guy?" Cheryl asked.

That's what got Dylan to answer. He wouldn't believe it if he weren't seeing it, but it was real. He wasn't sure if he should be happy or scared, but he knew that he had to answer. And he knew that this was a reunion he'd never forget. He was still in shock, but even with all the talking from students and their families in the background Dylan miraculously found the words to reveal the man's identity.

"It's my father."

**TO BE CONTINUED…. **

**

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**Dun dun dun! Another cliffhanger! Yup, I've had at least that last part planned for a long time. Well, something like it anyway. Took me long enough to do this, too. I had to keep typing and going back. First I took a break for dinner, then I had to stop because it was thundering and lightning big time so I didn't wanna type a bunch of stuff up and end up losing it to a power outage (which ended up not happening anyway), then I got caught up in talking to some friends online and that made it difficult to type this at the same time. I guess I didn't technically update two stories in one day now, cause by the time this is posted it's actually the day after I updated my Week at Lava Springs. But I did start it almost right after I finished that chapter. Anyway, this means only one more chapter to go! I don't want to give anything away especially since nothing's typed yet, but I will give you some hints about what will happen. If you remember the story that started these oneshots, you'll know who Dylan's real father is. That's whos there to see him. And while Kelsi's and Ryan's dilema has been solved in this chapter that means the final chapter will have Zeke and Sharpay finally adopting their son. Yup, letting the minor couples and such shine through with this finale so sorry for anyone who had been enjoying the Troy and Gabriella related chapters and anything like that. Let's just wait and see how it all ends. Before signing off I just wanna say thanks for all your patience with these oneshots and I'm glad so many of you had been enjoying them. Let's hope the last one of the bunch will not disappoint!


	18. The Finale: Part Three

At long last we have reached the final chapter! I would like to apologize immensely for the long wait. Work was really crazy this past week and I've been working on this final chapter all week part by part. But as of right now for this coming week, I'm not working as much as I have this week so that means more time for updating! The next chapter of Beauty and the Beast is almost finished being written completely so that might actually end up being the next story I update, and then I will continue writing chapters at work while finishing up with A Week at Lava Springs as well as Deleted HSM Scenes. One (possible two 0=)) chapters left in the HSM Scenes and the Week at Lava Springs is already half way done, so that means we're getting , back to this story. I know that some of these chapters could have been better but I'm happy that you guys have enjoyed them and that in some cases, the chapters have covered real-life issues. Now I know you're all pretty anxious (at least those of you who still read this lol) so I would just like to take one more moment to say thank you to all of the reviewers for these oneshots...and to give the usual disclaimer about me only being able to own anything HSM related in my dreams. So here's big thanks to all readers and reviewers! **Digigirl02**, **Lilmissmonique**, **ChaylorTwilightQueen10**, **RamandusDaugther23**, **Ash**, **ChaylorxTraylorlover101**, **RissaIzDeBomb**, **Kisha84**, **Mzwendy85**, **HSM**, and **Iheartchad andtaylor**. Thank you everyone! ^_^

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**Chapter Eighteen: The Finale, Part 3**

_Previously: when we last left everyone (you thought I was going to say 'when we last left our heroes, didn't you? XD), things were able to turn around for the better. Kelsi has been able to come clean to Ryan - after he accidentally overheard her and Sharpay talking. They are thrilled with their family the way it is and have decided to be there for Sharpay and Zeke once they adopt their child. A happy ending for the Evans. As for the Danforths, the argument between Chad and Taylor had all been a misunderstanding. After some teen angst from Dylan and the conflict that arose between him and his parents over the situation, he and his sisters were able to learn Chad only left to check on his younger sister. The family made it to his graduation just in time. But there was a plot twist and an unexpected visitor: Dylan's biological father. so here lies the final questions on everyone's minds - What will Sharpay's and Zeke's new son look like? Will he take to his new parents well or will it all be rebellion? What is Brian doing back and what is his purpose? And how will Cheryl react to finally finding out the truth about Dylan? Stay tuned, we'll be right back after this commercial break._

Advertisement Advertisement Commercial Commercial Commercial Commercial Commercial Buy this Buy That TV Offer Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

_We now return to The Finale...._

Cheryl blinked in surprise as she stared at her brother. Something just didn't add up. This...this...dude that just came out of nowhere was his father? Nu-uh, no way, no how, no chance. Cheryl was not going to believe it.

"What are you talking bout?" she asked him. Cheryl pointed up at Chad. "your dad's right over here."

His eyes still on his birth father, Dylan only shook his head. He just couldn't bring himself to say it. Yes indeed, Chad was not his real father. Dylan knew it. Maybe not when he was a little kid, but he still felt as though he always knew it. He vaguley remembered meeting his real father once. Dylan had run off from Chad, and he ran into this man...and he didn't recall how, but one way or another Dylan had ended up living with said man for a few days. Everything else in between was all a blank. Dylan didn't remember why he ran away from Chad or why he did go to live with this man. All he knew for sure is the man was his real father. The teen could call Chad 'dad' as many times as he desired but it wouldn't change anything. Everyone knew that there was a difference between an adoptive father and a birth father. Perhaps one could feel more like a parent than the other, but aside from that it was all the same. A birth father was a birth father, and now for the first time in probably ten years Dylan has met up with him again. And it scared him.

"No Cherry. It's not true." Dylan managed to shake his head. He looked at his confused younger sister. "Dad's not my real dad."

"But you call him that all the time. He has to be." Cheryl argued. She ran over to Brian; jumping up and down she pointed at him. It could have been eagerly or frustrated, but whatever the case she was pointing at the guy to prove her point. Cheryl may not have been the brightest, and maybe only barely being in elementary school was assisting her naivety, but she refused to believe that some other guy was Dylan's father when Dylan's been her brother since she was born. "Look at him Dill, there is no resemblance!" she insisted.

"I dyed my hair." the man explained. "And his skin tone, he got that from his mother."

"Yeah. My mom, who, wouldn't you know it, is his mom too!" Cheryl argued sarcastically.

"Cherry calm down." Chad said moving her back a few steps. "Don't talk back. Brian's a family friend."

"Well if he is a family friend then you wouldn't just stand there listening to him say how he's Dill's dad cause he's not!" Cheryl fought.

"Cherry no." he shook his head. "It's no lie. Brian really is Dylan's dad. I adopted Dylan when he was a little kid. And when your mom and I got back together she practically became his mom. Dylan's real mother died when he was born."

Cheryl kept shaking her head. This all wasn't true. It couldn't be true. They were lying...there was no other explanation. None of it made any sense.

"You have to understand something Cheryl. Dylan may not be ours but that's not going to stop him from being your brother." Taylor told her.

She kept shaking her head. "first you're trying to tell me he's not my brother and now you're saying he is? Make up your minds!" Cheryl exclaimed.

"Well...this is mildly awkward..." Brian said slowly.

But Cheryl was no longer listening to any of them. Everything was all crazy to her. It was completely ridiculous. Was Dylan her brother or wasn't he? How could he have completely different parents? This just wasn't adding up. Cheryl slowly took a few steps back just shaking her head and staring at all of them. So she did the only thing that she could possibly think of to do. She just took off in the other direction. Made a run for it.

"Cheryl where are you going?" Chad called after her.

"I'll go after her." Taylor offered. She ran after Cheryl in an attempt to catch up to her.

Dylan watched in disappointment as the girls disappeared from sight. He had no idea something like this would have happened. It was completely unpredictable. Think about it, Dill's been with his sisters since they were born and now the elder one was being told that they technically weren't related. That should surely be enough to freak any child out. It's the family they grew up with. And now it was as though everything had been a lie. So then after all this time, why the return of Brian? He couldn't be back just to see his son graduate. There had to be something more to it. College? Be closer to him? Give him some news? what was the deal?

Chad snapped Dylan out of his thoughts. He put a hand on his son's shoulder. "Dill? Do you want me to stick around?"

Dylan's attention was drawn to his father...well, the man he always called his father. It would be so much more complicated now. There was his father and then there was his real father; only Dylan knew which one was which. But whatever was going on, could he really have Chad around while he was talking to Brian? Maybe that would make things a little more awkward. But the truth was, Dylan wanted Chad there. He was his role model, the guy that Dylan always looked up to in the end. He'd always been close to both his parents, but Chad was the one who could turn things around and make them seem better than they really were. Lighten up the mood by making a joke out of everything. Always being there. Chad never pushed Dylan to do sports like he always loved but rather let Dylan learn everything on his own and what he wanted to do. And every time Dylan needed some guy advice Chad was there...and then to evidently make a joke out of that too, but was still there.

And there lay the problem. Dylan couldn't reply on his father - neither of his parents, for that matter - forever. There were some things he had to learn to deal with on his own. He wondered if this was one of those things, one of those weird life things. Whatever the reason, the guy just couldn't get out what he wanted to. Dylan wanted to say, 'can you Dad' or 'yes please'. But somehow the other part of him was saying, 'no I'm fine'. He was torn; Dylan didn't know what he he just needed this time with Brian, some real father son time. Maybe he needed to try and stand on his own for once.

Whatever the reason, Dylan turned to Chad with his answer. "It's ok. I'll be alright."

"Ok." Chad nodded, deciding to leave it at that. "We'll have our phones if you need to reach us."

"Ok Dad." Dylan replied.

Chad wanted to stick around longer. He wanted to know that his son was going to be alright. But that was it - Dylan wasn't his son. Not really. He was Brian's. And they needed this time together. Maybe just to be alone. They were family and Chad knew not to stand in the way of that. He rubbed Dylan on the head, a final attempt to lighten the mood; unfortunately that wouldn't work. Not this time. That's what made it depressing. Holding in a sigh, Chad removed his hand from Dylan's head and went to catch up with the rest of his family.

so that just left Brian and Dylan. Back together again. Alone. In complete silence.

-not a time for a couple-not a time for a couple-not a time for a couple-

Sharpay paced frantically around the waiting room. Her hands were behind her back and she nearly looked like she was going to explode. Zeke was sitting in a nearby chair. His fingers tapped on his knee rapidly, though once in a while he did pick up his gaze to Sharpay. She looked far more nervous than he, but then again he couldn't blame her. This was quite nerve-wracking, just sitting around waiting. It was only a matter of time before they met their son for the first time. The boy who they would raise. The first of...well maybe not many, but at least a few...that they would adopt and bring into their lives. Plenty of other soon-to-be-parents were waiting in silence just as they were. And there was so much to be afraid of. What if they didn't get along? What if they got a bad seed? would they like each other? What would the rest of their family think? Would he get along with their friends' children?

"Sharpay stop pacing around!" Zeke begged, unable to take it anymore. "You're making me a nervous wreck."

"Don't tell me what to do ,Zeke Baylor!" Sharapy snapped, pointing a finger at him as she stopped pacing. "I have just as much right to be nervous as you do. But we came this far and we're sure as heck not going back now. So don't you dare think about backing out or even chickening out because we are going to get through this, we are getting a son, and we are going to love him no matter what!"

"Yes dear." Zeke said right away, slouching in his seat.

The nerves were truly getting to Sharpay. That's why she was able to get angry so easily. Forget any anger management issues or possible problems with controlling her temper; this was a different reason to lose it so easily. And Zeke sure as heck wasn't going to argue with knew much better than to get Sharpay steamed when she was like this. He for one wanted to live to see tomorrow. It was most likely the one down side to being married to Sharpay Evans Baylor. One wrong move and her guy could wake up in the middle of the ocean surrounded by Parana with no life boat, rubber ducky, or even a bag of peanuts.

"Baylors?"

Zeke automatically jumped from his seat and Sharpay froze in her tracks. They turned to a middle aged woman who had entered the room, looking over her clipboard. This had to be it. No more waiting. No more suspense. No more childless lives. This was their chance. And neither of them had better do anything stupid to mess up the moment. Sharpay planned it in her mind so well: her reaction, her surprise, her excitement.... It all came down to this. She swore she wouldn't screw it up. Who was she kidding? She was Sharpay Evans...rather Sharpay Baylor. Perfection was her middle name. Well, actually her middle was Madeline. But if it had been up to Sharpay, her middle name would be Perfection.

"We're right here." she said getting the woman's attention. "Ready Zeke?" Sharpay turned to her husband, only to see him standing like an ice sculpture. His mouth was dropped wide open and he wasn't blinking. His arms were stiff against his sides and his legs stood completely straight next to each other, almost like he was a toothpick. sharpay raised an eyebrow when he just stood there, not giving her a response. "Zeke? Zeke honey? Earth to Zeke." She waved her hand up and down in front of his face, but he still didn't reply. A moment later, he did respond...sort of. Zeke fell backwards right onto the floor. He completely passed out. Lost it. Fainted. Thanks a lot Zeke, was all Sharpay could think at the moment. He completely demolished her moment. So much for not screwing it up.

"Right..." the woman nodded as she observed the couple. "If you both will just follow me into the other room."

Sharpay rolled her eyes as the woman exited the waiting room. Sharpay took Zeke by one of his legs and dragged him out of the room, following the lady. Honestly, she had learned to love Zeke over the years and she truly loved him to death but sometimes he could just be so embarrassing. This was one of those times. Oh who was she kidding? As long as they weren't being witnessed on national television it didn't matter how embarrassing he was to her. As much as Sharpay hated to admit it now, when she was in high school she was madly in love with Troy. But since then something between her and Zeke just clicked. Maybe they never showed it in public but there was something there. And let's face it, Troy never did cute embarrassing stuff. And he couldn't bake an amazing dinner either; thanks to Zeke Sharpay never had to cook a day in her life. Now that Sharpay thought about it, there was no one else she'd rather be adopting a child with right now. Oh she was so going to spoil that boy. Eh, maybe she'll spoil Zeke once in a while too.

"So where is the little darling?" Sharpay asked as they entered the other room.

"We'll get him as soon as your husband wakes up. I don't think you'd want to meet him without your man awake." the woman replied.

"Of course." Sharpay nodded. "so what can you tell me about him?"

The lady turned to a different sheet on her clipboard, most likely a page with some information on the lad. "His name is Jaden Mateo. He's ten years old and has been here since he was five. From what we know of his heritage, there is a mixture of Italian, Japanese, and African American. He can be a bit rebellious but he grew up with a younger brother so he is a very caring young man."

"Well...he doesn't have any tatoos or steals anything does he?" Sharpay asked. No way she was going to get into raising a child that had some kind of record.

"No of course not." she chuckled. "But you should know that he doesn't often listen to authority figures easily. I'm sure he'll just need some time to adjust to everything."

"of course..." Sharpaysaidslowly. She turned down to Zeke and shook him in attempt to wake him up. "Hurry up Zeke. We're about to meet our son."

Zeke gasped and sat up right away. "You're giving birth?" he exclaimed.

Sharpayrolled her eyes. There were times when she almost thought Jason's ghost was residing in Zeke causing him to be more embarrassing than he already was. This had to be one of those times. But she couldn't let that distract her now. "I'm talking about the little boy we're about to adopt you knucklehead."

"Oh...right..." Zeke said slowly. Boy did he sound like a total idiot. "So what's his name?"

"Jaden Mateo. He will take on your last name as Baylor." A little bit of a rebellious ten-year-old." the woman told him.

"Jaden Mateo Baylor..." Zeke toyed with the name. "Kind of has a nice ring to it."

Sharpayopenedher mouth to protest slightly, but there was no way she could change his name. She then shook her head, deciding against saying anything.

The woman opened another door to the room, probably where the boy was waiting. "Jaden come here sweetie."

A few minutes passed, most likely because he didn't want to come out. But he eventually did end up coming. His skin was similar to Zeke's in a dark tone, though a shade or so lighter. His black hair seemed to have a slight wave to it, ending at the bottom of his neck and having a few bangs hang on the side of his face. His body overall appeared a bit lanky, or maybe a tad thin, and his arms were crossed. The boy's most distinctive feature were his dark, piercing blue eyes. A frown hung on his face; he clearly did not look thrilled. Sharpay expected most children to be a bit scared or nervous in this situation. Never angry. That was the look on Jaden's face. Pure anger. Surely he couldn't hate them before even saying two words to them.

"I'll leave you three alone to become better acquainted. Take as much time as you need in here. You may leave when ready." the woman offered before leaving the room.

Sharpay and Zeke exchanged glances before looking back at Jaden. Were they supposed to feel this nervous? Sharpay decided to try and make the first move. After all, she did wear the pants in their relationship.

"Hi honey." she cooed. "I'm Sharpay and this is Zeke. We're going to be your mom and dad."

"Don't pull that garbage with me lady. You're not my parents and you'll never be my parents." Jaden hissed.

Zeke attempted to step up to the plate. "hey come on...I'm sure we can work this out. You know, we got a cake for you and everything. I made it myself. Hope you like vanilla with blue frosting and chocolate sprinkles."

"You bake? That's a girl's job." Jaden said.

"Excuse me?" Sharpay replied icily.

"Hey I do not do girl's job. Plenty of dudes bake." Zeke said as calmly as he could. "You know my dad used to do all the cooking for me an my mom cause she couldn't cook for beans..."

"Oh so girlie men run in your family. So glad you're not my real parents." Jaden said.

"Ok I really didn't want to do this after five minutes, but as soon as we get home you're going to your room young man." Sharpay scolded.

"You're not my mom. you can't tell me what to do." Jaden replied. Not even letting her or Zeke say another word, Jaden stormed out of the room.

This was going to be harder than they thought.

-family problems-family problems-family problems-

Dylan sat across from his father...well that would be the proper thing to call him. Dylan had called him father out of respect. But what he really wanted to do was call him Brian. The thing of it was, it wouldn't be the same. Dill was a kid who knew how to respect authority and the obey the rules. There was his dad and then there was his father. The difference between the two remained strong to yet he couldn't help but feel a gap between them. Like he was trapped on a pillar and on land to his right was Chad, and to the land on his left was Brian. The lands were equal in size amount but something was different about the two sides, at least the way Dylan pictured it all in his mind. He could see the sunshine and happiness on Chad's side because that's how Dylan always felt around his dad. There was a sense of security and there was a powerful father son bond. But on Brian's side, it was almost mysterious. Dylan barely nkewthe guy so he knew nothing about his life. It wasn't warm and inviting but it wasn't cold or scary either. It was completely neutral. That's what made it difficult to choose. In Dylan's mind, the pillar he was trapped on was slowly beginning to crack. It was trying to tell him something. And if it was which father to choose there was no way he could decide.

At least with his mother Dylan didn't have to be concerned. No other woman was going to come out of the blue and say he was her son. The bond between mother and son were just as strong, but it was also more secure. It wouldn't be easy to destroy that bond. But compare that to the bond with his dad and his father. There was something standing in the way between Dylan and Chad. And his name was Brian. And honestly, if the scenario in Dylan's head was real then he couldn't choose to go to Chad's side just because of the girls. The whole thing baffled him. None of this was supposed to be happening. And now he could see why Cehryl had been so upset. There was a rift in their family. And the best person to blame it on was Brian.

"Dill? Are you listening?"

Dylan blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. He returned to reality. He remembered now; he was sitting at Starbuck's across from Brian. Brian had a hot cup of coffee in his hands and Dylan had an m&m's cookie sitting in front of him. From the looks of it, only small nibbles were gone from the cookie. The poor kid had been so stressed out he barely even touched the circle of chocolaty goodness.

"Sorry. I guess I zoned out." Dylan apologized.

"That's alright son." Brian replied.

Son. Dylan didn't like that word. Son. Coming out of Brian's mouth just didn't sound the same way it did when it came out of Chad's. Obviously Dylan was thinking too much of this situation. But was he going to admit to it? Nope; he'd just keep thinking too much about it and eventually start to make a big deal out of it.

"Um...what time is it?" he willed himself to ask.

Brian pulled up his jacket sleeve and glanced at his watch. "Two thirty."

Dylan didn't like that either. He was supposed to have the celebratory lunch with his family. Or at least a celebratory dinner. Just something. But now those plans were down the drain. "I...I guess I should call my parents and let them know where I am."

"You can call them later." Brian said. "We're not finished talking." His voice was perfectly calm, but there was an ulterior motive to it. It was difficult to put one's finger on it.

"I really should give them a call." Dylan replied. He got out of his seat, ready to walk outside and pull out his cell phone. But before he could take one step away, Brian seemed to know exactly how to stop him.

"And what would you say to them?"

Dylan couldn't move a muscle after that. Yes, what would he say to them? He wouldn't know what time he's be back right now. He didn't know if he should tell them he's still with Brian. "I...um..."

"Exactly." Brian nodded, placing his chin in his hands and lacing his fingers together. "Have a seat, son."

Dylan held in a sigh as he took his place in his chair once again. He traced his finger around his cookie. He couldn't even bring up his eyes to look at Brian. Brian noticed this and took it as an opportunity to continue.

'Dill you know we have a lot of catching up to do. How come you're not talking to me?"

"nothing to talk about." Dylan replied simply.

"What about school?" Brian asked.

"Top ten percent of my class. A student." he answered.

"I'd love to say you got your brains from me, but I think you got most of them from your mother." Brian said.

Now that comment irritated Dylan. He knew very well that Brian wasn't talking about Taylor. He was talking about the mother Dylan had never meant. quite frankly, Dylan didn't care. He didn't want to sound cold hearted or even seem that way, but he didn't want to know anything about that mother. She was the one who left him. Brian didn't know for what, ten years, that he existed. What right did he even have to bring up that mother? It was the family Dylan never had, the one he didn't need to know about now.

"Yes. _My _mom. The one who raised me most of my life. I got my brains from her." Dylan informed him.

"I'm sure Taylor did plenty of things to enhance your brilliance. But between your mother and myself, she was the smarter one. I was the slacker in high school and decided to kick it into high gear in college so I could do something with my life. I needed something after losing her." Brian replied.

Dylan shook his head. "What right do you have to call her that? She's my mom. Don't refer to the other woman as my mother because as far as I'm concerned, she's not."

"I dated both of your mothers." Brian replied.

"No, you had an accident with the woman you call my mother. You were barely with my mom. Don't try to confuse me." Dylan said.

"Someone's being a tad rebellious don't you think?" Brian quirked an eyebrow. "got that from me."

"Stop it. Just stop it." he argued. "Don't compare me to you. I'm nothing like you." He pushed the cookie away and rose from his seat again. But as Dylan turned his back, Brian had to speak up again.

"I've been told you're quite the young artist. Who do you think you get that from?"

Dylan froze in his tracks. Art...it was just something he enjoyed doing. He liked being a part of something so free and being able to create something out of nothing. The whole concept of the subject...there was so much to learn. It wasn't like science which had only one answer or was all about facts. There was no way he could have gotten something like that from Brian. This was the guy that he was starting to detest, the one that he wanted nothing to do with in any sense. But now...it was different.

Slowly he turned his head back to Brian. "You?"

Brian merely nodded. "Yes, me. I was quite the young artist as well. I used to write notes on the back of the principal that said things like 'kick me' and then doodled a cartoon of a person kicking him in his butt."

"I don't understand." Dylan shookhis head. "There's two different sides to the brain. One side leads the mind of a logical person who succeeds in factual subjects like math and science. And then the creative side enhances a person's ability in things like art and music, things that are all about expressing one's self. How is it even possible for a person to have a perfect balance between the two sides of the mind? They completely conflict with each other. How could I have a balance like that? I get straight A's in art all the time but I also ace science easily."

"Perhaps the logical side of the mind was more forced on you." Brian offered. "Maybe you were pushed towards a life of science."

"Not a chance." Dylan shook his head. "My parents would never do that."

Brian signaled for Dylan to come closer, or to sit back down. "Take your seat again, Dill. I think it's time for a little compare and contrast."

Dylan hesitated for a minute. Part of him wanted to get up and leave so badly. And yet he was inclined to learn more. He wanted to see where this was going. There was silence for a moment before there was the faint sound of him pulling the chair out again and sitting back down.

"Tell me about those little girls you live with." Brian suggested.

"You mean my sisters? What's to say about them?" Dylan replied.

"Tell me about them." he repeated. "What do you know about them?"

"Well there's not much to say about Trina. She's barely six months old so she's a regular baby. She's easily distracted, adores stuffed animals, can open her mouth to cry really loud or be as quiet as an angel, and I know she's gonna grow up to be a sweet girl." Dylan explained. "Cheryl's six going on seven and is a real trouble maker. She's a total tomboy and loves playing basketball, but I guess she also has a fast metabolism too cause she eats a ton of food and you wouldn't realize she ate so much by looking at her."

"And what do you think of when you see them?" Brian asked.

"My parents." was Dylan's first answer. "How much they look like them, and how much Cherry takes after Dad. And that they're my baby sisters and I'd do anything for them."

"So who do they take after?" Brian inquired.

"My parents." Dylan responded.

"And who do you take after?" Brian finished.

"My parents." he felt obligated to say.

"Dill that's the problem. You keep referring to them as your parents but they're not. I'm your father." Brian said.

"I know. But they raised me. I grew up with them. I take after them. The humor, the brains, the stubbornness..." he started.

"But everything else you got from me and your mother." Brian stated. "I'd like for you to spend the night with me, Dill. Just one night. There's some things I want to talk about with you. I want to get to know you again."

-blahblahblah-blahblahblah-blahblahblah-

"How long as he been up there?" Sharpay asked Zeke. Since they got home it felt like forever since Jaden went up to his room and didn't come out. They had thought that he needed some time to get used to his new surroundings, time to cool off. But there was no such luck. Zeke had come downstairs with no son beside him. Obviously the talk he attempted to have with Jaden did not go over too well.

"Feels like hours." Zeke sighed as he leaned up against the wall. "All I did was knock on the door to check up on him and he completely snapped at me. I thought maybe he just wanted to talk but he locked the door. Barely even let me get three sentences in."

"That son of a..." sharpay cursed. "He has to be punished for talking back like that!"

"Sharpay I really don't think we should jump to conclusions. He's in an unfamiliar area, maybe he just needs more time to himself. He could be taking this the wrong way." Zeke replied. "Think about it, he's been in an adoption agency for five years. It would make sense for Jaden not to be open to new people easily."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sharpay rolled her eyes. "But if he doesn't come down here for dinner I swear I'm going to break the door down. We go through all this work and preparation for him and what do we get? Any thanks? Any hugs? no, nothing! Some reward for being a parent! What's next, he's going to tell us he hates his room?"

"Actually...he said he hated a lot of stuff from behind the door." Zeke admitted.

"What?" she gasped. "like what?"

"Do you want his exact words or just some rephrasing?" he inquired.

Sharpay shrugged, not in the mood. "Surprise me."

Zeke sighed. "His exact words, when I asked him what I could do for him are, 'I hate this room, I hate the color blue, I hate this house, I hate my bed, I hate your girlie baking skills, I hate my life, and I hate you two'."

Sharpay scowled. The nerve of that little...how could he say such things? After all the work they put in for him! They got absolutely no thanks at all! Oh the things she was going to do to that boy. "That tears it!" She made her way to storm up the stairs.

Zeke gasped and ran in front of her, blocking the path to the staircase. "Whoa Sharpay...you're not gonna do anything drastic are you?"

"Out of my way Zeke!" she demanded. "That boy needs a stern talking to and I'm going to give it to him!" Forcing Zeke out of the way, Sharpay angrily made her way up to the second floor. She didn't even hesitate to stop at Jaden's room. She pounded on the door right away. "Open up this door and come out right now, young man! You are in so much trouble!"

Jaden's fant voice was heard from the locked door. "Go away."

"you listen to me right now! Your father and I worked extremely hard to set everything up for you! How could you be so ungrateful?" Sharpay yelled.

"None of your business! And the girlie man's not my father." Jaden argued.

"Don't you dare call him girlie! Your father is a very lovable and strong man. And just because he cooks does not make him any less manly!" she fought back.

"I said he's not my dad!" he yelled. "Go away and leave me alone! I don't want anything to do with you or him!"

Sharpay growled. She couldn't take this anymore. He was just so much trouble. Time for even more drastic measures. "You wanna be that way, fine. Stay locked in there for all I care. But don't expect any food from either of us because you won't get it. You wanna lock yourself in there, then you get all the perks that come with being locked in there! When you're ready to come out then come out and we'll take you back to the stupid agency and find ourselves a real son. Cause obviously you don't want anything to do with us, so we don't want anything to do with you. Have a nice life, punk!" Getting all of her anger out, there was just one more thing to deal with. She stormed to hers and Zeke's room and slammed the door loudly behind her, with absolutely no retort from Jaden and no argument from Zeke.

-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-

The phone rang at the Danforth household. Taylor ran to pick it up first, anxious to hear from Dylan. She had no idea how it was going with him and Brian, but obviously there was some family tension or something along those lines that had to be cleared up. She knew Brian and she trusted Brian, but just wondering of the thoughts he could possibly be putting in Dylan's head frightened her. This was a man who completely lost contact with his son for years. And even though Dylan said he was lucky to have two fathers, Taylor was wondering how accurate the statement was the last time be brought it up. What if Dylan was finally choosing only one of his fathers and meant leaving the rest of them behind? A petty thought, she knew. But as a mother it was her job to be concerned. Not that she'd ever admit her fears out loud, of course.

"Hello?" she answered almost right away.

"It's me." Dylan's voice echoed through the other line.

Taylor held in a sigh of relief. Good, he had finally called. The remainder of their family had been home for a good couple of hours and already ate lunch, knowing that Dylan had probably eaten with Brian. And considering how responsible Dylan was, it wasn't like him to leave them hanging without an update on how well things were going or how soon he'd be home. "It's good to hear your voice Dylan. How are you doing?" she asked, not sure what else to say for the moment. Yup, maternal concerns again.

"I had lunch with my father. And then we went for a snack. We've been doing a lot of talking." Dylan replied.

"That's nice." Taylor said. "And how is everything going? Are you two bonding?"

"I guess, kinda." Dylan admitted. "He was trying to tell me a lot about him and..." His voice faded after that.

Taylor nodded, knowing what he was trying to say. There was that rift of the family again. It was just...weird, to say the least. Nearly hearing someone else being called his mother after all these years. It didn't feel right. "I see." was all she could say. What else was there? Taylor couldn't refer to herself as his mother after all that. And what was she supposed to call Chad. Not his father, and she certainly wasn't going to call him by his first name to Dylan. That would sound even less right.

"And how's Cheryl doing?" Dylan asked.

Another bad sign. It wasn't just the tone of Dylan's voice, how distant it sounded. The way he said Cheryl's name. He called her that plenty of times, but he also called her Cherry. It was an affectionate family nickname they had given her. Just thinking of the way how when she was a baby, she'd cry so much she was almost as red as a cherry in the face. It simply stuck. But the way Dylan said Cheryl's name, not to mention the fact he sued her name as opposed to her nickname, it was easy to tell that something was wrong. Maybe that he was even being told some things.

"She didn't really join us for lunch. She'd been sitting on the couch most of the time since we got home." Taylor answered, fighting the urge to say 'your sister'.

"Still mad, huh?" Dylan guessed.

"Just a little." Taylor admitted. "But you know Cheryl. She'll get over it."

"I guess." Dylan sighed.

Taylor sighed. This conversation wasn't going too well at all. "So where are you now?"

"In my father's car. We're on our way to his hotel right now." Dylan admitted. "He...kinda wants me to spend the night with him so we can get to know each other again."

She should have seen this coming. It hurt, actually. Yes, it did hurt from selfishness. Taylor knew that it was important for Dylan and Brain to spend some quality time together but still, that didn't give Brian any proper reason to take Dylan away from her or Chad. She didn't care if Brian was Dylan's father, uncle, cousin, or whatever. It never really felt like he was. He was only invited to see Dylan graduate, and now he was trying to...oh who knows, maybe brainwash Dylan or something.

"Oh. Alright. Well, I hope you have fun." Taylor said.

"Thanks." Dylan replied. "I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Ok. We'll see you then." Taylor nodded. "Love you honey."

There was a long pause. Dylan's normal response would be 'love you too mom' or something like that. But there was nothing of the sort. Just complete silence. There was absolutely nothing else. And once the long silence was completely over there was just a click on the other line. He had hung up. That was nothing like him. sighing heavily, she slowly hung up the phone. As soon as it was back on the hook, she headed to go up to her room. As she did so, Chad was coming down the stairs, most likely after having put Trina to sleep for her nap.

"Was that Dylan?" he asked her.

"Uh-huh." Taylor nodded, not really wanting to say anything else. She just wanted to get up to the room and be alone for a while. chad could keep a perfectly good eye on Cheryl.

"What'd he say?" Chad wondered, quirking an eyebrow.

She only turned to him briefly before giving as short an answer as possible. "Everything except 'love you too'." Taylor replied before turning on her heel and hurrying to get upstairs.

Chad just raised an eyebrow as he watched her go. He briefly glanced over at Cheryl, who was still curled up on the couch with her arms folded. Chad looked towards the phone, then back in the direction Taylor went in. Obviously something had been going on and he was completely out of the loop. Man how he hated it when that happened.

-CT-CT-CT-CT-CT-

The next morning Zeke woke up fairly early. Sharpay may have been sound asleep beside him, but he just couldn't get much sleep. He felt... more he thought about it, the more it bothered him. They had a ten year old boy locking himself in what was supposed to be his room and refusing to give either Zeke or Sharpay a chance. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with them. And even though it bothered Sharpay, Zeke knew it was hurting her too. And it hurt him as well. All he wanted was a child to call his own and the one they got wasn't letting him. This was like a family, you didn't get to pick them. And yet, Zeke wondered if it was family that was bothering Jaden. Was it just them he didn't like, or did it have something to do with the family he lost?

Removing himself from bed, Zeke scooted down the hall towards the room that was supposed to be Jaden's. Unsure if the boy was awake or not, Zeke knocked quietly on the door. "Jaden ?You awake?"

"go away." a mufled voice came from behind the door. It must have been Jaden. The kid didn't get any sleep at all last night? He sounded exhausted.

"I just wanna talk. You don't have to open the door or anything, all I'm asking is that you listen. Even if it's just for two minutes." Zeke said. He sounded oddly calm about all of this.

"I don't wanna." Jaden replied.

"Just two minutes..." Zeke asked nicely.

"No!" he snapped. "Now go away!"

Zeke stayed right where he was, facing the door. He refused to budge. "I'm not going anywhere. Sorry to disappoint you. But I'm not Sharpay. I'm not going to yell at you and say things you have to do."

"Girlie man letting your life be controlled by a woman." Jaden hissed.

"No I don't." Zeke shook his head. "We have different styles. Sharpay's the assertive one. She's a head-strong figter. I'm not. I'm more calm and reserved. I'm not gonna force you to do something."

There was no response from Jaden. There was no way he could have fallen asleep now. Maybe he was tuning Zeke out. Or maybe he took the headphones in the room and plugged them into a CD player or radio or whatever they had put in there for him, and could no longer hear Zeke. Whatever the case, Jaden was silent. How was it that everyone Zeke knew had to be stubborn somehow?

"Jay please..." he started.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Jaden yelled.

That almost caused Zeke to jump back. He took a few steps away from the door. He knew what he said, and he was surprised slightly by Jaden's reaction. He definitely hit a sore spot with that. Zeke sighed. Maybe there was something that they could see eye to eye on. "That was the nickname of my best friend. His name was Jason. We've been best friends forever. But when we were eighteen..." It had always been hard for Zeke to share the story to anyone. He barely even talked about it. But Jason was still close to Zeke. He visited Jason on their birthdays, every holiday, and on the day Jason died. He even went to visit Jason a few days ago to tell him the good news. About him and Sharpay adopting a son and that Jason would be the godfather. Zeke sighed and urged himself to continue. "There was a school shooting. Jason was one of the ones hit. We lost him. Jaden, I know what it's like to lose someone you really care about. You're not alone."

"Did you lose your parents too?" Jaden asked.

"No." Zeke shook his head. "But I know I will someday. They're not gonna be around forever. So I want you to know that you can talk to me."

"Do you have any brothers?" Jaden asked.

"Yeah. A younger brother." Zeke nodded. "His name's Harrison. We used to annoy the heck out of each other. But I taught him a lot about baking. We used to make cookies and cake for our parents all the time."

"My little brother likes cookies. When the old ladies made cookies for all us kids he always got to lick the bowl cause he was one of the youngest and one of the best behaving kids." Jaden said.

"You have a brother?" Zeke wondered. That was right; Zeke had fainted when the lady Sharpay talked to said that Jaden had a younger brother. Was this what was bothering Jaden all day?

"Uh-huh. His name's Carter." Jaden answered. "He loves cartoons and music."

"Really?" Zeke raised an eyebrow. Music, huh? That sounded like something Sharpay would really enjoy. "Tell me more about him?"

-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-

Brian looked up as he saw Dylan come out of his room. "Morning Dill. How was your night?"

"Good, I guess." Dylan replied as he walked over to the kitchen.

"I made you some breakfast. Pancakes with strawberry syrup. You just have to heat them up." Brian said.

"I'm allergic to strawberries." Dylan informed Brian. This was the guy that was supposed to be his father. How could he not know what Dylan couldn't eat?

"Oh, right. I guess I should have remembered that after seeing you when you were nine. I gave you a bowl of strawberries for a snack and you broke out in rashes an hour later." Brain replied.

Dylan rolled his eyes. right, that was the last time he and Brian actually saw each other. So far that was strike two on Brian's part. The first strike was when he made dinner last night and they were watching television; Brian was making shellfish while watching the History Channel. But anything history was Dylan's leat favorite, not to mention hardest, subject, and Dylan hated shellfish. Sushi and tuna he could deal with, but most other fish, especially shellfish, he couldn't stand. Why did he decide to room with a parent for a night who seemed to know squat about him, again?

"So how long should I stay today? I mean I do have to call..." Dylan cut himself off. what did he call them now? He couldn't call them his parents, could he? Not with Brian around. Things were awkward enough; and it was only going to get worse. "...them and let them know what's going on."

"Actually Dill, there's something I'd like to talk to you about." Brian said. "Come here?"

Dylan held in a groan. He didn't really want to, but he knew that he had to give Brian a chance. The way Dylan saw it, a person got three strikes. But sometimes he'd extend it to five. He knew that people made mistakes and that it wasn't easy to chance. Not everything had to be done in three's, like three strikes or three days and three nights. Sometimes there had to be an extension. And as much as part of Dylan wanted to give Brian that extension, he just wasn't sure if he could or if Brian even deserved it. Still, Dylan obeyed. He walked into the living room and sat on the couch next to his father.

"So what's up?"

"Well son, I'm not exactly sure how to break this to you. So I'll just come right out and say it." Brain replied. "Dill I know we haven't really hit it off today. Or yesterday. And I'd like to change all of that. I feel like I don't know my own son anymore. and that's the problem. We've spent too much time away from each other. And I know you're starting college in August. So I'd like it if you came home with me. I work at Oxford so I can get you in easily."

Dylan blinked. Brian was asking him to change plans? But Dylan had everything all worked out. He'd known exactly what to do. U of A. Possibly transfer. Stay close to home. How was anywhere near Oxford his home? How would he even know if it was the right school for him? "I...I can't." he stammered. "I'm going to school here. I start at the University of Albuquerque. I'm barely leaving New Mexico for any schools. Father, I wanna stay here."

"Dill I think I know what's best for you. I am your father. I want to make things right. And if I'm going to start my own family back home I don't want to do it without you." Brian replied.

"You do everything else without me. You've lived tons of years without me. You don't need me in some place like England now." Dylan argued.

"I'm trying to fix things with us that seem to have been completely destroyed. Why can't you do the same?" Brian questioned.

"Cause you're not my dad." Dylan snapped.

That completely shocked Brian. There was no way Dylan could ever say that. Not to him. Dill had never even said it to Chad...except for that one time he was nine but that was totally different. Dylan knew Brian was his father. But for some reason he was no longer going to accept it. And he just couldn't understand why.

"You...you do not talk to me in that tone, young man."

Dylan shook his head. He didn't care how difficult this made everything for Brian and he didn't care what Brian wanted. Dylan knew what he wanted. And right now, he wanted nothing to do with Brian. He should have never given him any chances. whatever went on at Oxford between last time and this time, it changed him. And Dylan did not like it. He wasn't sure if he would ever like Brian. But the important thing was that he knew what he wanted to do now.

"You don't tell me what to do. You're not my dad. My dad is someone who's there for me. My dad supports me. My dad doesn't force me to do anything. My dad raised me. and if memory serves you did none of those things. That makes you the furthest thing from my dad. I don't care if you helped bring me into this world or not. I already have a dad. And he's at home with my family." Dylan explained. He was finally done. He was done with saying he had two dads. He was done being curious about his birth parents. He was done being confused.

Then, not even letting Brian say another word, Dylan turned around and walked out of the room.

---

"Shar we're home." Zeke said later that afternoon as he walked into the house.

Sharpay stormed out of the kitchen and into the living room. If it wasn't her firey glare that told Zeke she was furious with him, it was her stance and the fact that her hands were on her hips - both clear signs she was in a bad mood. "Zeke Cameron Baylor where have you been?" she demanded. "You cannot just disappear and take Jaden back to the adoption agency without telling me first and then disappear for hours. I've had breakfast and lunch ready for you for hours and you refused to come home or give a single call? Don't you tell me anything?"

"I was afraid that if I told you anything you wouldn't be cool with it." Zeke said honestly.

"What good is our relationship...no, scratch that...what good is our marriage if we don't talk to each other? If you wanna keep some things about your job secret, fine. That's your business. But when it comes to our family there are no secrets unless it's for some kind of surprise!" she insisted.

"Well this is kind of for a surprise..." he admitted.

"What kind of surprise?" Sharpay questioned.

Zeke sighed. He was going to have to explain it to her at some point. might as well do it now. Besides, Sharpay had every right to know. He just hoped that she would go for it. "I talked to Jaden this morning. He wouldn't open his door or come out, but he did let me talk to him. And he did talk, too. A little. And I found out why he's so rebellious and why he's in such a bad mood."

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Sharpay...the little guy lost his parents when he was four. Right after his little brother was born. They lived with their grandparents until they died. Then they went to the adoption agency." Zeke explained. "And Jaden...he's been one of the first kids on the list to be adopted for a couple of years already. But he always ends up going back there. He gets so cranky around the new parents and they can't handle him. They never figured out what was wrong. That's why he was always brought back. And today I found out the reason why. His little brother never got to go with him because Jaden always went to a family that wanted one kid or one son. And he didn't wanna leave without his brother. That's why he was so angry with us. Cause we were gonna give up on him like everyone else and he'd be leaving his little bro behind."

Sharpay blinked. That was quite a bit to take in. to say the least, it shocked her. "What?"

Zeke sighed. This was gonna be harder than he thought. "Sharpay we went back to the adoption agency. But I didn't go to leave Jaden there. We went to get his younger bro."

"What?" she exclaimed. "Zeke how could you do something so irresponsible? We can't just decide to take two boys. what if we're not ready for two?"

"Sharpay think about it. What if you were in Jaden's situation and had to leave Ryan behind? how would you feel about losing your twin?" Zeke yelled. "What if you never got to see him again? Do you know what you'd do without your brother?"

She was silent. There was no response to that. Sharpay knew exactly how she would feel about losing her brother. And that was the exact response that Zeke wanted her to give. He knew her. He knew everything about didn't matter if he was just crazy over her at first and the feelings became mutual, or if some things were just plain old obvious. The only person who knew Sharpay as well as Ryan was Zeke.

"Ok, I get it." Sharpay confessed. "But you could have told me before."

"I wanted to surprise you. I wanted to make Jaden happy. He and I...we kinda bonded." Zeke replied.

"What exactly did you tell him this morning?" she wondered.

"I told him about Jason. That Jaden wasn't the only one who lost someone important in his life. I told him about my younger brother. And obviously Jaden and Cater are way closer than Harrison and I ever were...except when it came to anniversary presents for our parents." Zeke answered.

"Cater?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," he nodded. "That's Jaden's little brother."

"And what can you tell me about him?" sharpay inquired. She was willing to give this a chance. And she wanted to know that it would be ok with both of them. If Jaden and Zeke bonded then maybe she and Carter could bond. Sharpay didn't want to be out of the loop with three boys in the house.

"His name is Carter Dominic. He's six, and he's really close to Jaden. Carter loves cartoons and music, so he's also a fan of musicals. And from what I know, he likes playing with cards." Zeke explained. "He's waiting outside with Jaden right now."

"Why out there, not in here?" Sharpay replied.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be cool with it. I wanted to talk to you about adopting both of them in private." Zeke said. "I mean, I already signed the forms but if it doesn't work...I don't know, we can bring them both back or something."

"And what if I don't want to bring them back?" Sharpay asked.

A smile slowly grew across Zeke's face. He couldn't believe Sharpay just admitted that she would agree with him out loud. 'Really?"

"Really." sharpay nodded eagerly. "Bring on the little doll."

"There's two of them." Zeke said.

"I know," she nodded. "I was talking about Carter. He sounds so much nicer than Jaden."

Zeke couldn't help but laugh. He should have seen that coming. "You got it!" he exclaimed, clearly overjoyed by her reaction. He walked over to the door and opened it slightly. "Boys you can come in now." He stepped back and let Jaden and Carter stepped in. Zeke watched Sharpay's reaction carefully. She was studying Carter. She could see the resemblance between the two boys. They had the same skin ton, nearly identical hair color though Carter's was slightly lighter than Jaden's, and instead of plain old blue eyes like Jaden's Carter's were more like a blue-green shade. Carter's body was a tad more athletic and wasn't as thin as Jaden. And the little guy had the cutest smile to match.

"So you must be Carter." Were the first words that were able to escape her mouth.

"Uh-huh." he nodded in a shy, quiet voice. "Are you gonna be my new mommy?"

Sharpay smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I am. If you want me to.'

"Yeah." he replied. He walked right into Sharpay arms and hugged her. Sharpay couldn't help but smile as she hugged him back. Now this, she could handle.

Zeke smiled as he watched them. That's what he'd been wanting. It looked like everything was working out. And when he turned to look at Jaden, even he was was a done deal, no more rebellion, no more drama...it was all good. "How about we bring that bed in the room back later and trade it for a bunk bed? And then we can buy the boys some new clothes." Zeke suggested.

"Leave the outfits to me, Zeke. You can come along to carry the bags." Sharpay said sweetly.

And he should have seen that coming, too. "Great, we can go tonight. I wanna make a cake for my boys. What flavor do you both want?"

"Chocolate!" Carter exclaimed.

"No nuts. Carter can't eat them." Jaden said.

"So chocolate then?" Zeke asked.

"As long as you let me decorate with the frosting." Sharpay said.

Alright, so Sharpay was horrible with all things food and frosting but they were...abstract. At least in a creative manner. And she wanted to help somehow. That was good enough for Zeke. "Chocolate cake with colored frosting it is. Hold the nuts."

"Does chocolate taste good with bananas?" Jaden wondered.

"How about you come see for yourself." Zeke suggested. "We can try a few different food combinations and see which ones would be perfect for the cake. As long as you don't think its for girlie men."

Jaden shook his head. "Not completely."

"Let's go then. I'll show you to the kitchen." Zeke said with a smile, walking out of the living room with Jaden right behind him.

Carter looked up at Sharpay. "If we go shopping I wanna shirt with Pokémons on it."

Sharpay giggled. "I think we can do that. Come on, let's watch your dad and brother bake us a cake."

"Chocolate!" Carter exclaimed with a wide smile as he ran right into the kitchen.

Sharpay laughed watching the boys. She could not wait to show them off to Ryan and Kelsi!

-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-SZ-

The house was completely silent. The TV wasn't on, there was no music in the background, and no one said a word. Cheryl hadn't once moved from the couch; she was still curled up and she didn't look the least bit happy. Trina was on the couch next to her sister sucking her thumb; her back was up against the couch cushions and like all other babies she had no clue as to what was going on. Taylor was leaning up against the wall not sure of anything else to do; since coming back downstairs she had barely moved from that spot. Chad was just coming down from upstairs; he didn't even know what he was doing, he just kept finding himself walking into Dylan's room and remembering things from when he was only eight.

"Still not home yet?" Chad asked, finally breaking the silence.

Taylor just shook her head. She had barely said a word since Dylan called. It was just so weird feeling so distant from him. She knew that something was going on, and her worst fear was that it was pulling Dylan away from them.

Chad sighed. He hated seeing his family like this, so torn apart. It was bad enough always feeling that way with his sister, he didn't want it to seem that way now. He glanced over at his younger girls. "What about you, Cherry? Missing your brother?"

"He's not my brother." she shook her head.

"Don't talk like that. You know he is." Chad said.

"No he's not." Cheryl repeated. "He lied."

"Dylan cares about you. He watches you. He protects you. He's always been there for you. He loves you. Last I checked those are all things a brother does." Chad replied.

"Not my brother." she insisted.

Chad hadn't forgiven Dylan yet and it wasn't even his fault. Yes, Dylan had promised to tell Cheryl they weren't related but the way it turned out...it just wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He would have said more, but his head was turned to the door. The doorknob turned slightly, and slowly enough it opened. Dylan stepped into the house. His head was down and he didn't sat a word. Chad's eyes widened and he exchanged glances with Taylor. Neither of them knew what was going on. Cheryl didn't turn her head but Trina's curiosity was peaked. She crawled over to the arm of the chair and leaned up against it to see who had walked in. And as soon as Dylan faced his family there was nothing but an awkward silence. No one said nothing. No one made any sudden moves. But they were pretty sure of one thing - that Dylan wouldn't be there too much longer.

Dylan took a small survey on the room upon the silence. He first looked at baby Trina. She was sucking on her thumb and looking at him all wide-eyed. She was too young to understand the family issues that were going on right now. But Dylan could tell that she knew something was up. Not only was there the look of curiosity but there was also a faint glance of intelligence. He could tell Trina knew there was a problem right now but there was nothing she could do about it. She was the newest member of the family and Dylan was overjoyed to have her as a sister. Trina wasn't nearly as much trouble as Cheryl had been. In fact if Dylan didn't know better, he'd say she'd grow up to be her exact opposite. He could just imagine all the things he'd be leaving behind with her if he ever left. But he knew she couldn't hate him like Cheryl did right now.

That's who his eyes fell on next. From the angle he was standing at, Dylan could see her on the couch. He was amazed she wasn't in her room. But if Dylan knew her as well as he thought he did, then Cheryl probably had to come down for food and then in between meals just stayed on the couch not doing or saying anything. She had to be so stubborn. And here Dylan was, supposed to be her big brother no matter what. So much for that; Cheryl wanted nothing to do with him anymore and Dill just wanted to fix things. But he didn't even know how to. He was afraid he'd lost someone already.

Then Dylan saw Chad. This was the man who took him in, the one who he seemed to bond with so easily. Yeah, they were close. They were about as close as any father and son. It didn't matter how different they were. Sure Chad loved sports and Dylan didn't. They would still sit down and watch games together. He liked that. Dylan also liked it when Chad praised him for his artwork. He couldn't imagine not calling anyone else his dad and yet just a few hours ago he had called Brian his father. Brian was no father. That was Chad. Who could ever take Chad's place? No one gave Dylan girl advice like Chad did or tried to make a funny situation out of a bad one. And let's be honest, Chad was the one who gave Dylan his "I Majored in Vacation" t-shirt after Dylan 'borrowed' it from his closet and wore it to school one day. No other dad Dylan knew wore funny shirts like that anymore. Chad was someone who adored his little girls and couldn't be more proud of his little man. and even standing at about the same height as Chad Dylan could still look up to him. but turning his back on Chad...how could he have done something so stupid? Maybe he didn't really, but it sure felt like it. Chad always wanted what was best for Dylan; and no one more than Dylan knew that Chad was best for him. Dylan didn't have two fathers, not anymore. He had one.

And then there was Taylor. Oh man how could he have not told her he loved her when he talked to her yesterday? That could have been the last time he talked to her and then he'd regret it forever. This was the woman Dylan grew attached to right on the spot. He couldn't even explain it. She just always seemed like such an open person and accepted him so easily. He liked that she and Chad got along since she met her and he liked that she took him in as his own when he was so confused. Not to be disrespectful to his birth mother, but Dylan saw Taylor as his real mother. She never played favorites between her kids and she always proved that even though she loved the three of them in different ways it was all equally in the end. They could confide in each other and Dylan didn't feel the need to try and seem so manly around Taylor like Chad always did. Dylan was much more sensitive than that. Forget the ideas Brian was trying to put in Dylan's head about science and all that being forced on him. Dill knew better. He remembered; Taylor was the one who showed him that science could be interesting and from that he saw the fun in was a contrast to the art that he loved so much. whether Dylan always had those brains or not, he still thought that they came from Taylor. He could never turn her back on her.

Not even wasting another minute Dylan walked across the room, everyone still in utter silence. He walked right over to Taylor and hugged her. He didn't want to say anything at first and he certainly didn't want to pull away. He just hugged her. When he finally willed himself to say anything, Dylan knew what the first words he waned to come out of his mouth were. "I love you."

Taylor hugged Dylan back. Now with him being taller than her, she could rest her head on his sounded...distraught. Confused, even. But she certainly wasn't going to hold that against him. "I love you too."

Dylan sniffed and lowered his voice, unable to describe how bad he felt right now. "I'm sorry I just hung up on you. I just..."

"No, it's fine." she whispered shaking her head. "You were with your father. You didn't want to make things weird."

"But things were weird. He kept comparing me to him and telling me things I didn't know and didn't wanna know..." Dylan replied.

"He can tell you more than we can. Dylan you always knew." she replied.

"I know." he nodded. "But I wish I didn't. I don't wanna be like this."

"It's alright." Taylor promised quietly hugging him tighter. "We're here for you. We always will be."

Dylan took deep breaths. It was almost overwhelming to him. "He was trying to tell me things about my birth mom. That's all he kept talking about. He kept saying how they were my parents and all you guys did was raise me..."

Taylor wasn't sure how to respond to that for a moment. Things felt like they were so delicate and breakable already. There was no way they could make it worse. "I guess we did." was all she could bring herself to say.

Dylan sniffed again and pulled away just enough to look at her. "He...he wanted me to go home with him. He said he could get me in Oxford. That he doesn't wanna start a new family without me."

Chad's eyes widened on hearing thing. So that's what Dylan came back for? That meant he was going to leave them. There was no way he could turn down an opportunity like that. He had to go with Brian. it should have happened sooner. Just none of them saw it coming.

Taylor's reaction was the same as Chad's. She figured it meant Dylan was going with him and just came back to collect his things and say good-bye. She wasn't sure what to say at first. "Well...we'll go help you pack your things then."

Dylan shook his head. No that wasn't supposed to be happening. That's not what he was there for. didn't they see? He wasn't there to leave. He was there to stay. "I said no, Mom. I didn't wanna go.I have plans. I know where I'm going. I don't want anything to do with Oxford. I don't wanna go who knows how far. I wanna stay here. I said no." He hugged Taylor tighter and she wrapped her arms around him once more.

"It's alright Dill. We're right here." she promised. "We've got you hon."

"Yuo said no to Oxford? That's turning down a real something, Dill." Chad said, ever the jokester.

Dylan let a faint chuckle escape him. That was Chad for him. He had to try and turn even the sappiest situation into a funny one. "It's too far. There's no one there for me. I've got everything I need here."

Chad hugged the two of them close. "Yeah. We're all you need kiddo. We've been waiting here for you and we're not gonna leave now.I mean, c'mon. You weren't gonna leave us." He even tried to laugh himself. "I could've told you he wouldn't ditch us Tay."

Somehow in the midst of all that Taylor was able to roll her eyes. "Sure, you say that now tough guy. I saw the look on your face."

"What about your face?" Chad replied.

"What about my face?" Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"It was...I mean..." Ok now he opened his big mouth. "It's as beautiful as the rest of you."

Dylan couldn't help but laugh. His mood was really lifted fast. He really owed Chad for that one. "He may be making a big joke but it's true." he said. "That's my dad."

Chad smiled crookedly. "Your dad huh?"

Dylan nodded. He pulled away from Taylor and turned to Chad. "I used to think I was so lucky. That I had two dads so that made my life way better than most kids. But today was the first time in years I saw my other dad. We know nothing about each other. You know everything about me. You've been there for me ever since I can remember. What did my other dad ever do for me? Not even half as much as you did.I don't want two dads. I don't even need two dads. I'm already talking to my real dad."

"Where did you get this sappy side to you?" Chad teased.

"Oh, from all those love poems you wrote and stuffed in your-" Dylan joked, but he never even got to finish. Chad quickly put his hand over Dylan's mouth.

"i never wrote any love poems. What ever gave you that idea?" he chuckled faintly. He quickly looked at his girls. "I never wrote any poetry." he said quickly.

"Really? Maybe I should go to our room and see for myself." Taylor giggled.

"no, no. No need to." Chad blurt out.

Dylan laughed. "This is why I love you guys. We can always joke around each other. I couldn't ask for a better family."

"Ok Dill I can't take it anymore. Get over here." Chad smiled and pulled his son into a hug. "So you're really not flying off to England?"

"Not in a million years. I got everything I need right here." Dylan replied hugging Chad back. "I'm sorry I worried you guys."

"Hey, it's all good." Chad shook his head. "We're here together and that's all that matters. and we still need to go out for that celebratory family thing. How does dinner sound?"

"Speaking of family..." Taylor said as she sat on the couch. She placed Trina in her lap and looked at Cheryl. "Cherry is there anything you have to say to Dylan?"

Cheryl just stayed quiet and crossed her arms.

Chad had his arm hung around Dylan still as he looked at his elder daughter. "Cheryl c'mon. You can't keep giving your bro the cold shoulder."

"He's not my brother." she hissed.

"Cheryl Dominique..." Taylor scolded.

"Mom, it's fine." Dylan said. "Cheryl's got every right to be mad at me."

"no it's not ok." Chad said. "I can't even begin to tell you how long I've gone not getting along with my sister. I don't wanna see the same thing happen to you guys. You both have always been so close."

"And really, you should be grateful you have each other. For all you know an accident in the future could tear you apart." Taylor added. "I lost my brother and sister over it and I don't want to see you two go drifting apart and then never being able to fix things."

"And think about all the things Dylan ever did for you. They're things a brother should do. Dill's never given one good reason not to trust him or anything. And yet right now you're taking one little mistake on him. You bro deserves to be cut some slack." Chad continued.

"When you were born we distinctivly told Dylan that no matter what he would always be your brother. What kind of message are you sending him now?" Taylor asked.

Cheryl looked back and forth between both of her parents, then over at hated to admit it sometimes, but Cheryl did like having a big brother. Especially one that she felt was less tough than she was. Come on, she could totally kick his butt in on the other hand it did feel like all of this had been a lie. They should have told her sooner she and Dylan weren't related, even if she wouldn't have understood. "I dunno..."

Taylor sighed and stood up from the couch. She walked over to Chad and Dylan and placed Trina in Dylan's arms. Trina responded happily by giggling and tugging on Dylan's shirt. Hey it was better than sucking her thumb. "Do you see that, Cheryl?" Taylor asked her. "If Trina can be so willing to accept Dylan as her brother than why can't you?"

"Cause she's just a baby." Cheryl replied.

"Who probably understands this way better than you do." Dylan said. "I mean she looks so much smarter than you..."

"What?" Cheryl gasped jumping off the couch. "She is not!"

"I don't know..." Dylan said innocently. "I mean if you've got Dad's athletic skills then it would make sense Trina gets mom's brains." He hid a smirk, so clearly he was making a joke out of it. Either that or just using reverse phychology. whatever he was doing, it seemed to be working.

"So not true. My brain could beat her brain any day!" Cheryl insisted.

"How about we go discuss this over that family dinner." Chad offered. "And you guys can argue on the car ride there all you want."

Dylan grinned and nodded. "I think that's a good idea. He went to the key rack and picked up the car keys. "I'll drive."

"i'll beat you to the car!" Cheryl exclaimed running out.

"Hey that's no fair!" You got a head start." Dylan laughed as he chased after her outside with Trina.

chad chuckled and slipped an arm around Taylor. "That's our kids huh? They grow up so fast."

"I know. What would we do without them?" Taylor replied resting her head on his shoulder.

"We'd be living with a good twenty-seven cats." Chad laughed.

Taylor smiled and rolled her eyes before playfully hitting him on the chest. Then she blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Chad?"

"Yeah Tay?" he replied.

"Did Dylan just say he was driving?" she inquired.

"Yeah. He even grabbed the car keys." Chad nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"He's never really driven on a highway before." Taylor answered, remembering that was the easiest way to get to the restaurant they all knew they'd be going to.

"Oh is that all? I thought you were gonna say something bad," Chad said not realizing that Taylor had told him something to worry about.

Taylor made a face and counted backwards from three in her give Chad that much time, he'll catch on. Three...two...one....

Chad's eyes widened and his jaw dropped right on cue. "Oh Sea Banana!" he exclaimed.

"I think you mean 'Sea Biscuit'." she corrected him.

"Oh Sea Biscuit!" he exclaimed again.

From emotional to laughing to arguing to loving to just plain crazy. But hey that was family for you. What wre you gonna do? That was the way it was all meant to be. And none of them could be happier.

**THE END**

* * *

and there we have it. The final chapter is done, done, and done! Once again, huge apologies for it taking so long. I kept doing everything in parts each day and there were some points where I just felt too dang lazy to write. But I hope you have all enjoyed it. As to whether or not I'll continue this at all with special episodes, such as two or three parters with special events, it's all up to you guys. Just if enough people ask for them. But I will let you know right now, if they are desired then they will not be started right away. Yes I might have an idea or two for them, but if those specials were to be posted then I would like to come up with ideas before promising anything to get started. Once again I hope you all enjoyed reading these oneshots and the story that started it all. Thank you all for opinions, ideas, and everything in between that I can't think of at the moment. xD So until next time, bye-bye everyone! I look forward to hearing more nice reviews from everyone for anything at all, and also in case there's any good stories out there (which we all know there are plenty of) I look forward to reading those as well. Peace out all. C=


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